Rusty Webster, who manages Kamas Valley Investment Group, can’t get a building permit for his hotel until Francis approves its architecture and aesthetic components.
And the city council has twice denied his architectural plans over a disagreement about what he characterizes as an attic. Some city councilmembers argued it’s effectively a fourth story, which isn’t allowed.
Webster is asking 3rd District Judge Richard Mrazik to reverse the council’s decision. He filed an appeal in district court July 9.
The hotel, called The Stonewright, already has some of its permits. It’s planned for the intersection of state Routes 32 and 35, next to the city hall.
Francis city code allows hotels there, up to 45 feet, but only with three stories. Webster applied for a code amendment allowing four stories within that same height limit. After community pushback, the council denied it.
In court papers, the developer says “public clamor” caused councilmembers to deny his plans for three stories with an unfinished attic.
Webster also alleges that’s “in part because the conceptual plans for the hotel included windows and other external features for the attic they believed made the attic look like a finished story from the outside.”
The developer claims the attic complies with city code, International Building Code and state construction code.
Mrazik hasn’t scheduled a hearing, and Francis hasn’t responded in court.
The city is already defending a lawsuit over the first hotel the council approved along state Route 32: a Best Western to be built at the Lambert Lane intersection about a mile from the proposed Stonewright.
Residents, not the hotel developer, are suing because of the project’s proximity to wetlands and to their neighborhood, Village at Lambert Lane.
May 27, Francis’ attorneys filed a response denying wrongdoing and arguing councilmembers correctly applied city code.
No further hearings are on the calendar, but Mrazik said both the residents and city must be ready for a trial by August 2026.
