Gilbert Town Council denies appeal on WoodBridge Suites Hotel
A WoodBridge Suites Hotel will be able to move ahead with construction after Gilbert Town Council denied an appeal of the hotel’s design at its Dec. 13 meeting.
Council voted 6-0, with Council Member Laurin Hendrix absent, to uphold the decision of the Planning Commission in its capacity as the Design Review Board.
The appeal from Power Ranch resident Joni Joiner was based on the hotel’s elevations and color scheme. Joiner acknowledged in her comments that the developer had acceptably modified the colors, which also was a stipulation from commission, from including a burnt orange to more neutral colors.
Thus, the sticking point became the elevation of the building, which at its highest point is 45 feet, 4 inches. The town’s zoning there calls for a maximum height of 45 feet.
However, Joiner and speakers from the Power Ranch neighborhood indicated they hoped the issue would give reason for council to reject the hotel as wrong for the area. The hotel would be on the back part of a lot at the southwest corner of Power and Germann roads.
“To me, that’s not an honest preparation to the community,” Joiner said about the added inches. “In fact, that’s kind of an insult that you would try to get that passed.”
Joiner and the neighbors objected to the hotel as an extended stay hotel that accepts cash only for payment that would draw in criminal elements like drug and prostitution, though the applicant’s attorney, Paul Gilbert, said they do not even accept cash and the average nightly stay would be about $165.
Town Attorney Chris Payne told council it could only review the height and elevations, and not the building’s use, in the appeal.
Given that scope, council members said they could not support the appeal. Staff told council that by the way the town measures elevations, the project met the 45-foot requirement.
“I understand the concern about the use,” Council Member Scott Anderson said. “However, I hope you all believe as much in property rights as the rest of us do. It’s been zoned for a very long time, and this use is an appropriate use in the zone, and I’m not going to stray any farther than that.”
Vice Mayor Aimee Yentes also noted that as a hotel is an allowable use within the zoning of that land, denying the owner that use would make the town liable to the owner for diminution of value on the land.
Yentes also said she hoped the residents would at least see value in their appeal, as Police Chief Michael Soelberg said during the meeting the department would be willing to meet with the developer and neighbors to work through their crime concerns.
Tom Blodgett Senior News Editor | Gilbert @sp_blodgett
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
By 
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here