The developers of Goleta’s Hilton Garden Inn plan to make a few architectural tweaks to the 138-room project, including adding balconies and increasing the building height by 8 inches.
The city’s Design Review Board unanimously approved the changes Tuesday, having previously granted design approval in 2014.
The City Council approved a final environmental impact report for the project under construction at the northeast corner of Hollister Avenue and Storke Road in October 2013.
The hotel at 6878 Hollister Ave. will have 169 parking spaces and 11 valet spots on the three-acre site in addition to a 95,678-square foot hotel, which formerly was to have 149 rooms.
Goleta’s General Plan designated a hotel for that site, and developers have been altering aspects of the project — mostly size — since an initial version was approved in 2008.
Pete Kruse of Kruse Development Services Group Inc. presented proposed changes on behalf of property owner Kevin Keefer.
Revisions included relocating and modifying mechanical roof equipment, decreasing the height of mechanical roof equipment screening, and adding five balconies each on the second and third floors.
Plans also called for increasing the building height by 8 inches due to Hilton rules related to clearance near the hotel lobby and OSHA regulations for adding shading to the rooftop deck.
Kruse said the project was still under 30 feet tall, however, although Design Review Board members worried it might seem taller than that to locals already upset with the project height and possible traffic impacts.
Hilton also required developers to create a sheltered area for smokers — in a corner near the conference spaces — since the hotel will be nonsmoking only.
Developers wanted to add a glass railing on the roof deck, increase the roof deck trellis height, change the trellis material to steel from fabric, change roof deck lighting, and modify materials and colors of the trash enclosure.
Per prior approval, all external and roof-mounted mechanical equipment on the hotel and restaurant had to be designed to be easily integrated into the structure or screened from public view instead.
The Design Review Board granted approval with the condition that developers would lower the trellis height on the western end, to 8 or 9 feet tall from 10 feet.
The developers provided no timeframe for construction completion, noting that recent rains have slowed work a bit.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
