Santa Monica : Hotel Construction OKd

The City Council has denied an appeal by a group of residents and approved the construction of a four-story, 68-room hotel on the corner of Stanford Street and Santa Monica Boulevard.

About 15 neighborhood residents spoke against the project Tuesday night, citing parking and traffic congestion as problems in the area that would only be exacerbated by the hotel. They said the neighborhood has enough hotels and urged the council to consider building a library or retail outlets at the location--even though the property is privately owned.

Councilman Ken Genser proposed that another environmental impact report be done before construction is approved.

But the council decided to allow the hotel, which will also contain three rent-controlled apartment units. The council set several conditions on the approval, including additional parking spaces, a height limit of 42 feet, a wall on the east side of the property.