Procedural issues put proposed 6-story hotel on hold in Glendale
A 30,000-square-foot parking lot located at 145 N. Louise St. in downtown Glendale could become the site of a proposed six-story hotel by R.D. Olson Development if it can move past initial design stages.
If approved, a surface parking lot on the southwest corner of Louise Street and Wilson Avenue would be demolished to make room for the hotel, which is proposed to have 147 guest rooms, a lobby, lounge, dining area and conference rooms, as well as a pool and fitness center.
The property is owned by First Baptist Church of Glendale, according to Roger Kiesel, a senior planner with the city.
The proposed project was originally brought to the City Council on May 9, but procedural issues have kept the hotel out of further discussion for at least a couple of months, according to city spokesman Tom Lorenz.
The council was set to review only the first stage of the project’s design as a way to guide the project into the second stage. Until recently, the project was brought before the council as one stage.
That meant council members could only consider the conceptual mass and scale of the project as presented in a city staff report. No environmental review would accompany it because that is required in the second stage.
However, council members decided to postpone the hearing after design elements contained in the staff report that were not up for review for approval frequently became topics of discussion. They included a number of variances that can be discussed only in the second stage.
The meeting diverged after Councilman Vrej Agajanian asked if a proposed pedestrian paseo at the hotel’s plans could instead be used for parking to make up for a space exemption mentioned in the staff report.
According to the report, when the second-stage design review is brought to the council, the developer is expected to ask for a parking exemption for the 124 on-site spaces proposed instead of the minimum 147 spaces required by the zoning code.
Hotels are required to provide one parking space per guestroom, according to city documents.
Twitter: @JeffLanda
