The Simsbury Zoning Commission approved a site plan for a 120‑room Holiday Inn Express on roughly seven acres of a larger 54‑acre parcel along Hot Meadow Street, subject to nine conditions and outstanding technical engineering review.

Agent Phil Doyle and developer Adam Westhaver presented the plan, describing a three‑story, approximately 72,000‑square‑foot hotel with a loop drive for fire access, a mix of surface parking and about 50–56 parking spaces under the building, a ground‑level patio, a rooftop deck on the third level and an enclosed indoor pool. The applicant said the site would be accessed via Dorset Crossing (a public roadway) and that the development is intended as an anchor use to support the adjacent ice‑skating facility.

Traffic consultant Scott Hesketh reported the hotel is projected to generate about 41 morning‑peak hour trips and about 56 Saturday‑peak trips; he said modeled intersection levels of service remain acceptable when the hotel and agreed future background development are included, and noted the Office of State Traffic Administration will review the submission as required.

Planning staff noted several outstanding engineering comments from the town engineer, primarily on stormwater design and aquifer protection considerations; the staff recommended conditions that require the applicant to address those engineering items before issuance of a building permit. The commission’s motion to approve included a condition requiring test pits and subsoil results prior to permit issuance in order to verify infiltration and stormwater assumptions.

Commissioners and the applicant discussed construction timing; the applicant said construction would begin in 2026 with a typical 18‑month build timeframe if scheduling and supply permits, but commissioners recorded that schedule comments were applicant estimates rather than formal conditions.

The commission approved the application unanimously.