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Commission recommends approval of Everhome Suites site plan with landscape-strip variance
Summary
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of a 120-room Everhome Suites site plan (case 26-SP0004) on a 2.24-acre tract, including a variance reducing a required 15-foot street landscape strip to as little as 6'7 feet in places; staff said the planting requirements will still be met through clustering and additional on-site plantings.
Staff presented an updated site plan for Everhome Suites, a proposed four-story, 120-room hotel on a 2.24-acre tract near State Highway 114 (case 26-SP0004). The resubmittal showed a one-way driveway with angled parking and a new loading/check-in zone; the plan includes 120 parking spaces and five accessible spaces.
Nathan told commissioners the site meets most landscape requirements but that a linear landscape strip along Northport Drive would be reduced in width in some places to 6'7 feet because of encroachments by parking and an amenity area. "The reduction in the width of the landscape strip is a variance that can be approved with this site plan," Nathan said, noting that the commission's recommendation would go forward to town council for final approval of the variance.
Commissioners asked whether the required number and caliper of trees would be provided. Nathan said trees are being clustered in other parts of the landscaped strip to meet the numeric canopy requirements even where the linear width is reduced. Tim Reaver, a civil engineer with Wolpert, described the amenity area as a fenced, landscaped seating area in the rear similar to the nearby Cambria Hotel.
A commissioner moved to recommend approval of the site plan with the reduction in the landscape-strip width; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
Why it matters: the commission's recommendation advances the project to council review and a potential construction permit. The variance affects the streetscape along Northport Drive and sets a local precedent for how constrained sites may meet planting requirements through clustered plantings or variances.
Next steps: the recommendation and variance request will go to Town Council at its July 23 meeting for final action.
