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Upon Further Review, Goleta Design Board Wants Video Simulation of Marriott Plan

Residence Inn proposal continued to Feb. 23 as developer mulls 3D presentation to demonstrate how hotel may affect mountain view

The section of Hollister Avenue where an extended-stay Marriott Residence Inn is planned is considered a visual resource under the Goleta General Plan. As a result, developers are modifying elements of the project to accommodate better views. (Gene Fong Associates rendering)

By Sonia Fernandez, Noozhawk Staff Writer | Published on 02.09.2010

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The fate of the Marriott Residence Inn proposed for 6300 Hollister Ave. across from the Santa Barbara Airport may be determined by a video simulation the developer will present later this month to the Goleta Design Review Board.

Resuming consideration of the project at their Tuesday meeting, DRB members were still not satisfied with changes the project’s planners made to their plan for the extended-stay hotel, or the simulated still photos they presented to the board. In a unanimous decision, the board continued its meeting to Feb. 23. Tuesday’s meeting was itself a continuation of a late January meeting at which the DRB asked to see additional options to minimize the hotel’s scale.

On Feb. 23, meanwhile, representatives of developer R.D. Olson will have the chance to decide between making a more three-dimensional representation of their project or presenting a new design for the hotel altogether.

Tuesday’s meeting was the latest in a series of reviews for the roughly 134-room Marriott Residence Inn, which the City Council approved in concept in November 2008. Proponents say the hotel will provide a high-quality, extended-stay facility for a market they say is not served in Goleta. The DRB has been critical of elements of the plan that block views of the Santa Ynez Mountains from Hollister, views that are considered a visual resource under the city’s General Plan.

This time around the hotel’s third floor was reconfigured so the building’s roofline would not obstruct the mountain vista. Despite the change, DRB chairman Thomas Smith asked if the suite count had to be the 134 rooms proposed, given a recent letter to the board from Trey Pinner, a representative of local hotel owners. In his letter, Pinner argued that other Marriott Residence Inns in California had fewer suites. The emergence of new competition in Goleta has long been a simmering concern for some rival hotel owners.

According to R.D. Olson representative Anthony Wrzosek, however, the company’s land costs, which include mitigation for archaeological resources at the site, make the roughly 134 750-square-foot suites necessary for the project to be financially feasible. Also necessary, according to the development team, is the project’s footprint, which is 14 percent larger than the guidelines established by the city. The proposed hotel, however, meets the city’s 35-foot height limit and the structure is set back 130 feet from its Hollister frontage — far beyond what the city requires.

For its part, the city has requested plans for an extended-stay hotel on the land, which has been designated for hotel projects. If built as proposed, it is estimated that the Marriott Residence Inn will provide up to $600,000 in annual transient occupancy taxes, as well as redevelopment funds and 22 full-time jobs.

Attorney Marc Chytilo, representing Friends of Saspili, a preservationist group opposed to the hotel’s construction, spoke up at the meeting and challenged the hotel’s defense of the room count. He said R.D. Olson would “need to provide hard evidence” that it could not break-even with a smaller room count, which could both decrease the height and footprint of the hotel.

Although they expressed dissatisfaction with the current design, DRB members concluded that a three-dimensional view of the project may give them a better perspective. The applicants will decide whether to present a simulated drive-by of the hotel, which might provide a better idea of the views of the mountains and the building’s distance, or come back with an altogether new plan. Their decision will be presented at the Feb. 23 Design Review Board meeting.

— Noozhawk staff writer Sonia Fernandez can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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» sure ain't pretty on 02.10.10 @ 12:42 PM

I think I saw this same hotel in Lancaster.