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Planning commission recommends Noun Hotel expansion despite neighbors' objections to height and rear wall
Summary
The commission voted unanimously to support an amendment to the Center City PUD allowing the Noun Hotel to expand northward for a 54‑room addition and ballroom; neighbors warned a 54‑foot rear wall and potential precedent would harm adjacent single‑story homes, while the applicant cited AIM 'urban high' guidance and economic benefits.
The Norman Planning Commission unanimously moved to recommend approval of an amendment to the Center City Planned Unit Development (CCPUD) to allow the Noun Hotel to expand onto an adjacent lot to the north, adding a ballroom and 54 guest rooms.
Planning staff (Anna E. Star) described the subject tract as 'urban high' on the AIM future land‑use map and said the proposal adds rooms, meeting space and associated amenities while remaining in the CCPUD boundary. Staff noted two protest letters representing about 2.4 percent of the notification area. The applicant team said the expansion is on property the hotel already owns and represents a site‑plan amendment rather than a change in use.
Applicant representatives, including Sean Reager for the applicant and Scott Lambert as proprietor, told commissioners the addition would include a ground‑floor ballroom facing University Avenue and three floors of rooms above it (54 rooms). The team emphasized continuity of design and landscaping, described low‑impact stormwater measures (rain garden and swales) and called the existing project an economic success: the applicant referenced estimates that the development contributes roughly $320,000 annually to the Center City TIF and that hotel occupancy, sales and beverage taxes together produce roughly $1.5 million annually in local revenue.
Neighbors objected to the proposed four‑story massing immediately adjacent to one‑ and two‑story homes. Mariel Hoffnagels said the expansion would “undermine the purpose of the neighborhood manners portion of the Center City form based code” and warned that a “54 foot tall brick wall would rise directly behind that property, blocking sunlight for much of the day.” Multiple neighbors likewise described the proposal as a looming mass that could set a precedent for future exceptions to the form‑based code and raised drainage and construction concerns.
Architect Kara Hall said the project team studied alternatives and found the number of rooms needed for the project's economics requires the footprint and four stories in the proposed configuration; she said shifting massing or stepping the building would increase overall height. Commissioners pressed for mitigation options — landscaping, material choices, raised window sills or other design moves — to reduce the perceived wall effect. The applicant pointed to a required tree‑planting standard (two‑inch caliper minimum) and said it would work with the city forester to select species that provide a 'tree wall' buffer.
After discussion and questions about dumpster location, stormwater and sightlines, a commissioner moved to approve the CCPUD amendment; the motion passed unanimously. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the city council for final action.
