Despite Los Altans' eagerness to rid their city of an eyesore, city officials have taken time to ensure a new development replacing the dilapidated Four Seasons Motel complies with both council codes and residents' wishes.
At Thursday night's Los Altos Planning Commission's meeting, five commissioners recommended approval of a proposal to build a 190-room Marriott Courtyard Hotel at 4320 El Camino Real in place of the Four Seasons. Conditions to that approval dealt with reducing the height of the structure and a landscaping plan.
Ron Johnson, managing principal of the Four Seasons Associates, described the proposal as "a very up-scale design, and one we think will work well in the community."
Everyone at the meeting, from city staff to concerned residents, supported the idea of tearing down the motel. Commissioner Bruce Skov reported that "visiting the existing building almost made me sick."
However, reaching an agreement with developers Oliver Lin and John Challas has been a long process for the commissioners. They already reviewed the design once before, at which time they suggested several changes should be made. The purpose of Thursday's meeting was to review these changes, and add any conditions for the design's approval.
One such condition concerns the hotel's proposed height. At the last meeting, the Planning Department asked developers to modify the hotel's visual impact by reducing its height.
Even though Johnson insisted that the hotel height had been reduced by 16 feet, Skov felt that the developers did not create a "scaled-down" project per the commission's request.
The three-story element of the design was the commission's major structural concern. Although the front corner of the proposed hotel lies within a "commercial thoroughfare" zone, which limits building height to two stories, Associate City Planner David Kornfield recommended that the third story be approved because the top of the building is only two feet taller than the maximum height permitted for a two-story structure.
Another concern for the commission is the loss of affordable housing that the hotel's construction would create. While the district in which the new hotel will be located is a "multiple-family, residential" zoning district, the city council amended the code last July to provide for possible hotel use of the site.
In compensation for this potential loss of housing, the commissioners agreed that the developers should pay the city council an "in lieu" fee, money the city would eventually use to construct affordable housing units.
The next step is a review by the city council. With this recommendation, the council must consider all aspects of the project before deciding whether to issue a building permit.