Calistoga could see another 170 hotel rooms in future | Business

Downtown Calistoga could be the site for a new complex that includes a hotel, spa, restaurant and apartment rentals.

On Tuesday the Calistoga City Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Merchant family that gives the go-ahead for a development application for the Veranda Hotel project to be located on Lincoln Avenue in a 10-acre site situated between Indian Springs Resort and the Calistoga Depot, both properties also owned by the Merchant family.

“Every element of this will be up for discussion. There will be multiple public hearings both in front of the Planning Commission, as well as the City Council for consideration if any zoning amendments are required,” Mayor Chris Canning said.

“And knowing the applicant and their history in town I’m sure they will also be some open community meetings that they will be willing to host.”

The project includes a hotel with up to 170 guest rooms, restaurants, meeting rooms, a spa, a 4,464-square-foot event building, swimming pools, a public laundromat, and a 22-unit apartment building that could be used as employee housing.

During public comment Doug O’Neill said he “looked at the plans and kind of liked it,” and would probably support it, but is concerned about affordable housing for employees citing the current difficulty Calistoga and surrounding areas already have, and the addition of two new resorts that will bring in an additional 500 jobs.

The street he lives on has eight homes on it. Two are owned by longtime residents, two are owned by people who live out of town and come up for weekends, two are vacation rentals, and the other two are rental homes, one in particular, is a two-bedroom home “occupied by six people who have eight cars,” he said and then when the part-time residents come to town and the vacation rentals are occupied it leaves little room on the street for anyone else to park.

Conceptual plans of the hotel project were first reviewed by the Planning Commission in 2005, and in 2011 plans were refined and reviewed again.

A formal application was received by the Planning and Building Department on July 10, said Senior Planner Erik Lundquist in a report.

“Overall the project was well received; however, there were a fair number of comments about the proposed building height and the vision for the Fair Way extension, which would be further assessed as this project moves forward,” Lundquist wrote.

The main building would front Lincoln Avenue and is planned for three stories, which is of some concern to some including the owners of the property directly across from the proposed project.

Carolynne Wilkinson Clair, co-owner of Dr. Wilkinson’s Hot Springs Resort said she supports the project, but is not in favor of the height of the building.

Vice Mayor Michael Dunsford, who was absent for Tuesday’s meeting, and Councilmember Gary Kraus will sit on an ad-hoc subcommittee that will provide oversight to the City Manager in negotiating the draft terms and conditions of the Development Agreement.