Wasilla planning commission unanimously approves amended CUP to relocate Home2 Suites, raise building and sign heights

The Wasilla Planning Commission on May 6 unanimously approved an amendment to Conditional Use Permit (CUP) 2503 to relocate a planned Home2 Suites hotel within The Shops at Sun Mountain, increase the building height from 54 feet to 60 feet 1 inch and raise a wall-mounted sign height to accommodate the taller structure.

The amendment, presented by Acting City Planner/Deputy Administrator Nygaard, covers a 2.392-acre lot at 2242 E. Tysons Trail and proposes moving Home2 Suites from the originally approved Condo Unit H to Condo Unit I and adjusting architectural details. Nygaard said, “we do recommend approval of this application.”

The vote matters because it clears the way for the developer to finalize design and begin vertical construction once required permits and conditions are met. The commission’s action bundles the site-plan changes, the taller hotel elevation and the higher sign into a single amended CUP rather than separate approvals.

Applicant Timothy Alley of the Bode Company told the commission the relocation is intended to place the hotel in a less visible, more secluded corner of the site and to reserve more visible parcels along Parks Highway for retail uses. Alley said the design “has gotten a lot further forward” and that the hotel needed roughly two additional feet between floors, which accounts for the height change.

Rick Marco of Affinity Hospitality, owner’s representative for the project, described Home2 Suites as a midscale extended-stay Hilton brand and said the operator expects it to perform well in the Valley. “Home 2 is a brand that guests love and, we are confident that it will do very well here in the Valley,” Marco said.

Attorney/staff commenter Michael Shores raised a procedural point about the previously granted sign variance and recommended that variance criteria be included in the record. Shores said the commission has authority to act on the amendment but that the record should reflect variance findings.

Commission discussion focused on shared parking, septic infrastructure and visibility from Parks Highway. The planning staff said the larger development uses a shared-parking approach and that the site plan’s parking summary currently shows a shortfall of about six spaces relative to a typical total requirement of 448 spaces; staff said overlapping operating hours for different uses on the site were expected to reduce actual parking conflicts. On septic, the developer confirmed the hotel will use two on-site septic tanks (about 6,000 gallons each) as part of Wasilla’s step system — tanks to collect solids with effluent pumped to the city treatment system — so the hotel remains connected for wastewater treatment.

The commission’s approval includes a set of conditions that the applicant must meet before or during construction: substantial conformance with the site plan in Exhibit B of Resolution 2503; a letter of approval from the Central Mat-Su Fire Department indicating conformity with adopted building and fire codes; insulation over septic tanks and lines where located in asphalt driving lanes; successful stormwater management approval from the City of Wasilla Department of Public Works; approval of all required utility permits; widening retention-pond access routes to 30 feet to allow for snow dumping and stockpiling; and submission of a landscaping bond prior to any vertical construction.

Commissioner DeYoung moved to approve the amended CUP; Commissioner Stafford seconded. The planning clerk recorded roll-call votes of “yes” from Commissioners Stafford, Brown, Seals, DeYoung and Langel; the motion passed unanimously.

The commission closed the public-comment portion of the hearing with no members of the public speaking on the item. With the CUP amendment approved, the developer must secure the listed agency approvals and satisfy the conditions before proceeding with vertical construction and final permitting.