11th-hour cancellation of Planning Commission review of Hotel Sonoma project

Second cancellation of Planning Commission review of controversial 62-room hotel on First Street West, originally scheduled for Nov. 3.|

Less than five hours before the City of Sonoma Planning Commission was to convene to hear the Environmental Impact Report for the “Hotel Project Sonoma” on West Napa Street, city Planning Director David Goodison called the meeting off.

“Correspondence submitted yesterday on the EIR prepared for the hotel project credibly suggests that there may be a potentially significant flaw in the traffic analysis,” the city planner wrote in a Dec. 8 statement to stakeholders and the press. “This a critical issue that must be addressed and corrected.”

The meeting was to be the latest stage in the lengthy process to approve a sometimes-controversial hotel, and was expected to draw an impassioned audience to the Community Meeting Room on First Street West. The project, a 62-room hotel with accompanying restaurant – though scaled down from its earlier iterations that included a second restaurant and an event center – is scheduled for development in the 100 block of West Napa, just off the Sonoma Plaza.

This marks the second cancellation of the Planning Commission review, which was originally scheduled for Nov. 3, but had been delayed a month at Goodison’s request to give the community more time to evaluate the project and its potential impacts.

“It’s been five years, we’re prepared to wait another month,” said Bill Hooper, president of Kenwood Investments which is financing the hotel project. “If it’s not done right, EIRs can be subject to lawsuits which would delay things even further.”

Darius Anderson, the founder and principal owner of Kenwood Investments, is Managing Member in Sonoma Media Investments, the company which owns the Index-Tribune.

Goodison pointed to additional calculations that may be necessary regarding the left turn into the hotel driveway, which he said may not include all trips associated with the project site.

“Until additional analy-sis occurs, staff cannot say whether the current conclusions in the EIR regarding traffic impacts are accurate,” read Goodison’s memo. “Under the circumstances, staff cannot recommend certification of the EIR at this time. Therefore, the hearing on the EIR has been canceled and will not be rescheduled until this issue is fully investigated and resolved.”

Goodison added his apology for the late cancellation of the Planning Commission meeting. He did not say when it might be rescheduled.

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