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City Council approves 290‑room Commons hotel after debate over traffic, buffers and stormwater
Summary
After a lengthy quasi‑judicial hearing, the Naples City Council approved a 290‑room hotel site plan in The Commons (25‑SP1) with conditions including traffic improvements, preserved trees and enhanced stormwater measures; the motion passed 5–2.
Naples City Council voted 5–2 on April 15 to approve site plan petition 25‑SP1, clearing the way for a proposed AAM Hotels property in The Commons: an approximately 290‑unit transient lodging development with two levels of structured parking, amenity floors and a linear park.
The petitioner, represented by Francesca Pasadoma and a design team, told council the project relies on long‑standing entitlements from a 1980 development‑of‑regional‑impact and the 1989 annexation and said the hotel “is within all development parameters vested and established by the city code,” adding staff had found the site plan sufficient. Architect Mark McClain described the project as an eight‑story building (two parking levels, multiple amenity levels and hotel floors above) with an interior courtyard and screened parking. Transportation, landscape and stormwater consultants presented technical studies they said showed the design meets the PUD criteria and applicable city standards.
Council members pressed petitioners and staff on traffic and neighborhood compatibility. Traffic consultant Norman Trebelcock said the study used peak‑season counts and included a proposed extension of the southbound left‑turn lane on Goodlet Frank Road, and he said the development’s PM‑peak trip generation would remain under the PUD’s trip cap. Council requested, and staff recommended as a condition, that the petitioner coordinate the turn‑lane improvements with Collier County and be responsible for required right‑of‑way work and costs.
Planning Director Erica Martin told the council the site plan meets city and PUD criteria but recommended four conditions carried forward from the Planning Advisory Board: county‑coordinated traffic improvements and the petitioner’s financial responsibility for them; an eight‑foot sidewalk along Goodlet Frank Road as shown on the plans; further evaluation and permitting of the Commons sidewalk alignment; and staff/arborist review and approval for proposed preservation and supplemental street‑front landscaping. The design review board and PAB reviewed the project and the PAB recommended approval 6–0.
Council members who voted yes said the petitioner and designers had revised the plan to address neighborhood concerns (including removing a previously proposed rooftop restaurant) and had committed to additional buffering and stormwater measures. Vice Mayor Blankenship and Mayor Heitman voted no, citing unresolved traffic and compatibility concerns.
The approval includes the staff conditions and the council’s added direction that the petitioner preserve recorded interconnections shown on the submitted survey and cooperate with the northern property owner to maintain access easements. The council recorded the motion and vote in the minutes; the petitioners will proceed to final permitting and building‑department review for construction approvals.
What happens next: staff will obligate the conditions in the resolution and require permits, right‑of‑way approvals and any required Collier County traffic permits before certificates of occupancy are issued for the hotel.
