SUBMIT COMMENTS OR TESTIFY AT THE PUBLIC HEARING

The City Planning Commission public hearing on the proposed Marriott Hotel complex at 419 State Street, the site of the Hood River News building, will be Monday, December 1 at 5:30. Written public comments must be submitted before 5:00 pm on Friday, November 21.

The structure would have approximately 131,000 square feet. The development would include restaurants, a bar, a spa, pools, meeting spaces, 135 hotel rooms, and rooftop deck areas. Access would be on State Street. The project includes 115 of the 183 parking spaces required by the applicant’s traffic study.

Thrive will submit these written comments. The main points in our letter, which you are welcome to use in your written or oral testimony, follow.

· The project violates the City’s 45-foot height limit. The developer is using a “terracing” loophole to propose a building that is actually 69 feet tall (153% of the allowed height). This sets a dangerous precedent that would effectively eliminate height limits on sloped properties downtown.

· The massive 131,000 sq. ft. bulk is incompatible with the Historic District. The structure would dwarf the adjacent historic buildings. The City is ignoring its own past legal precedent (the 2004 Walmart case) where it successfully argued for a much stricter standard of compatibility.

· The parking plan fails and violates the Comprehensive Plan. The 63-space deficit violates the Comprehensive Plan’s requirement for “adequate public facilities.” The “fee in lieu” is not a real solution, as it’s a “minuscule share” of the real cost to build a future garage, for which the City has no site or plan.

· The application is legally incomplete. The City’s own Staff Report fails to address mandatory decision criteria, including “Compatibility with the Site.” The Planning Commission cannot legally approve a project when its own staff has failed to provide the required analysis.

Details on where to submit written testimony and how to testify at the hearing are at Public Notice for Dec 1 Hearing on Marriott Complex