Feb. 17–It looks like a redesign was just what the doctor — or rather, commissioners — ordered for a hotel proposed for the Village of Arroyo Grande.
After being denied approval by the Planning Commission in December, a proposal to build a boutique hotel in the Village was unanimously approved Tuesday night, with commissioners saying the redesigned project was a significant improvement over the previous proposal.
"What you have done with the architecture is completely outstanding," Commissioner John Mack said during the commission's meeting Tuesday. "It has gone beyond my expectations from last time."
Commissioner Terry Fowler Payne recused herself from the discussion and vote because she lives nearby.
The new plans call for a slightly larger 54-room, 29,380-square-foot hotel, located next to the Mason Bar and Grill and the former Robert's Restaurant. It will have a partially covered pedestrian path connecting Branch Street with Le Point Street.
The hotel design's exposed rafters and white trimming are more reminiscent of cottage-style homes and the handful of residences along Branch Street — something that was important for the project's developer NKT Commercial and architecture firm Steven Puglisi Architects Inc., considering the commission's negative response to the hotel's previous design in December.
It has gone beyond my expectations from last time.
John Mack, Arroyo Grande Planning Commission
At that meeting, many audience members and the commissioners questioned whether the "Monterey coastal" design proposed at that time was appropriate for the Village, with some members of the public going so far as to call the design "ugly" and "like a cheap motel."
The response at Tuesday's meeting was decidedly different, with almost no one criticizing the hotel's design. Instead, much of the discussion centered around traffic concerns.
The stretch of Branch Street where the hotel would be located is one of the busier areas of the city, in part because of Paulding Middle School at the east end of the road and Arroyo Grande High School several streets over on Valley Road. When the schools let out in the midafternoon, traffic routinely backs up on the street, many residents claim, making it difficult to get in or out of their homes.
Though commissioners were sympathetic to the traffic concerns, the majority said they still support the project.
"Traffic is not going to go away," Commissioner Glenn Martin said. "Traffic is so impacted by the schools. The extra trips this is going to bring in will be negligible."
A timeline for when construction would take place on the hotel has not yet been announced.
Kaytlyn Leslie: 805-781-7928, @kaytyleslie
