Oakdale council upholds Planning Commission approval for 83‑room Fairfield Inn after heated public hearing

Oakdale — After a lengthy public hearing that drew residents, competing hotel owners and the applicant’s attorney, the Oakdale City Council on Monday upheld the Planning Commission’s approval of an 83‑room, four‑story Fairfield Inn by Marriott, rejecting an appeal that had sought to overturn that approval.

The council’s minute‑order vote to affirm the Planning Commission’s November 6 determination passed with three votes in favor, one opposed and one abstention. The outcome allows the project to move forward under the conditions adopted by the Planning Commission, which include mitigation measures in the site plan and conditions in the resolution.

City contract planner Mark Niskinen told the council the project site lies within the East F Street Corridor specific plan and summarized the approved permit: an 83‑room, four‑story hotel with a 12,292‑square‑foot footprint and 47,596 total square feet, on‑site amenities (pool, fitness center, dog run) and frontage improvements to…