The hotel site is on the northwest corner of state Route 32 and Lambert Lane on the northern edge of town.
Although it doesn’t have a building permit yet, hotels are an “allowed use” under the land’s zoning. That means the city must approve it as long as the developer abides by code.
Responding to curious residents, Francis City posted a frequently-asked questions sheet on its webpage Sept. 11. It states the developer, Harwood Homes, is going before the city planning commission Sept. 19 to begin the permitting process.
Until then, the city doesn’t know how many rooms the hotel may have. Heights on the property are capped at 45 feet.
“It is anticipated that the hotel will not occupy the entire 10-acre site,” the city wrote. It will have access points on both state Route 32 and Lambert Lane.
Besides increased property taxes, the city will be able to collect sales and transient room taxes from the hotel.
The city will also collect impact fees, which developers pay to maintain and add infrastructure. That will help pay for water, Francis City officials say.
The information page also highlights the new well and tank the city built in the Stewart Ranches neighborhood.
“This infrastructure significantly increased the city’s water pumping and storage capacity and provides redundancy to minimize disturbances when a pump fails, which was the cause of the 2023 water restrictions,” the city wrote.
Best Western’s parent company BWH Hotels is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. According to Forbes, it operates 19 brands: SureStay Hotels are the budget options, Best Westerns are middle-of-the-road and WorldHotels are luxury.
Best Western Plus is better than your average Best Western but a step below Best Western Premier.
The site for Francis’s new hotel has been ready for a hotel for two decades. The city says it annexed the property in 2004 and at that point zoned it commercial, which allows hotels.
There will be four total public meetings, two at the planning commission and two at the city council, before the Best Western can be approved. It would be the first chain hotel in the Kamas Valley.
Francis says topsoil excavation already underway on the site was permitted by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Harwood Homes declined to comment.
