Hollister
– The County Planning Commission is about to take one last look
at the proposal for the Spur Hotel in Tres Pinos.
Hollister – The County Planning Commission is about to take one last look at the proposal for the Spur Hotel in Tres Pinos.
The divisive project drew a standing-room-only crowd to the June 6 Planning Commission meeting. Many locals have said the hotel could ruin their quiet community, but the project has plenty of defenders as well.
After hearing hours of public comment, the commission voted 3-2 to deny the developers’ request for a zoning change and commercial district review. At their meeting tonight, commissioners will consider a list of findings for denial prepared by county planning staff.
The proposed hotel would be located near the intersection of Southside Road and Highway 25, and it would include 36 standard rooms, eight suites, a banquet room and a meeting room.
In his staff report, Senior County Planner Chuck Ortwein highlights two reasons to deny the project – its improper location and adverse effects on the environment. According to his report, public comments made on June 6 indicated that noise, traffic and a lack of parking would create problems in the area.
Some locals, including the planning commissioners who voted against it, praised the project for potential benefits to the county’s economy. Commissioners Dan DeVries, Gordon Machado and Mark Tognazzini said the hotel is a good project in the wrong location.
“I’d like to see this come back after we update the general plan,” DeVries said at the meeting.
Some of the most consistent and vocal opposition came from Tres Pinos residents near the proposed hotel site. One of those neighbors, Jamie Frusetta, said Tuesday she was pleased with the Planning Commission’s work.
“I think the commissioners did a good job listening to everybody and making their decision,” she said.
Jamie Frusetta and husband, Robert Frusetta, plan to present commissioners with a letter outlining more reasons to deny the project.
Those reasons include the Tres Pinos Water District’s moratorium on new hookups, opportunities for developing commercial projects elsewhere in Tres Pinos and a lack of parking for banquet and meeting room guests.
Jae Eade, who had planned to develop the hotel with her husband John, did not return phone calls Tuesday.
After the June 6 commission meeting, Eade said she was shocked by the commissioners’ decision.
“We sat there for over four hours and listened to all five commissioners say repeatedly what a great project it was,” she said.
At the time, Eade – who sits on the Free Lance Editorial Board – said she and her husband hadn’t decided on their next course of action.
If the Planning Commission approves the findings for denial, Ortwein said the Eades and other members of the public will have until June 30 to file an appeal with the Board of Supervisors. Without an appeal, the application stops with the planning commission, Ortwein said.
Robert Frusetta said he and his wife are ready to keep fighting if there’s an appeal.
“This has been going for two years already,” he said. “We’re not going to give up now.”
