One of the two controversial hotels planned for Francis has hit a snag.
The developer of The Stonewright hotel, set to go up in the center of town, wanted four stories. But the Francis City Council rejected the request earlier this year.
So the developer came back with plans for three stories and an unfinished attic with the same dimensions as the original four. Either way, the project will be 45 feet tall, which is what the zoning allows.
Stonewright developer Rusty Webster already has the overall permit for the project, but the city council denied the architectural plans for a second time in a 3-2 vote June 12 because of the attic.
“You think that's a three-story building with an attic, and I'm saying that's a four-story building because it's the exact same thing in front of us,” Councilmember Clayton Querry said. “It looks very similar. It almost looks exactly the same.”
City staff suggested the council could have included special conditions if it approved the building plans that the building inspector would then have to enforce.
That might entail no windows or floor joists in the attic, only roof trusses, for example.
But most of the council wants to see new designs before voting “yes.” Webster could submit a revised blueprint or appeal the council’s decision in court. Until then, the project will be stalled.
That may please residents who opposed both hotels the council permitted in March and April.
The first, a Best Western, is now tied up in 3rd District Court after residents filed an appeal.
The appeal window for the second, Webster’s Stonewright hotel, has passed.
Public hearings for both hotels’ permits were often standing-room-only, with hours of public comment from opponents.
