ESCONDIDO - The last legal barrier to the construction of a Marriott hotel next to Escondido City Hall fell away Tuesday with the release of a Vista Superior Court judge's ruling in an environmental lawsuit against the project.

City officials have been working with La Jolla-based developer C.W. Clark for several years on the hotel project. They have promoted it as an elegant place for visitors and a way to bolster the conference center at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

"It's nice to have it validated that we did all the necessary preparation and we can start building," Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler said.

The hotel's construction will start at the end of 2007 and it could be open by mid-2009, according to the developer.

"We are thrilled to be able to get to work and make a reality out of the City of Escondido's long-envisioned dream for a downtown hotel," said President Craig Clark in a statement.

A group calling itself Downtown Business Owners for Responsible Planning had sued the city of Escondido in September, demanding more environmental review of the seven-story, 196-room hotel that the City Council approved last August.

Backers of the Responsible Planning group have included property manager Jim Crone, insurance broker Tom Knight, attorney Mary Deutsch and the owners of Filippi's Pizza.

Knight, who attended court hearings last week and had said parking availability was his main concern, declined to comment for this story.

The hotel will replace a 75-vehicle parking lot between City Hall and the arts center next to West Valley Parkway.

Pointing to crowded parking lots across West Valley Parkway, the Responsible Planning group objected to the loss of the City Hall parking lot and said a distant lot on Woodward Avenue that the city had proposed to soak up the displaced vehicles wasn't enough.

The group challenged the project over its possible impacts on parking, traffic, hydrology and the appearance of the downtown area.

In all areas, Judge Thomas Nugent ruled that the city's "mitigated negative declaration" - which addresses environmental concerns - was sufficient and that a full environmental impact report won't be required.

"There is no substantial evidence in the record that the project will result in a significant impact on parking capacity," his ruling says.

Similarly, his ruling says there is no legal evidence that a 75-foot hotel will be out of place next to 65-foot and 85-foot buildings at the arts center.

Last year, the hotel project was joined to an eight-story condominium building and parking garage that was supposed to go across from the hotel on what is now Escondido's Parking Lot 1 on Maple Street.

Although the sale of the condos was supposed to make the project more financially viable for Clark, the company dropped the condo building after criticism accumulated from the Planning Commission and downtown business owners.

The cost of the hotel when it was approved last year was estimated at $56 million, with $16 million of that coming from the city.

Clark estimates the hotel will bring the city $1.3 million annually in sales, occupancy and property tax revenue. The plans include a restaurant, two meeting rooms and 209 underground parking spaces.

- Contact staff writer Quinn Eastman at (760) 740-5412 or qeastman@nctimes.com.