Planning commission recommends council approval of Hotel Victoria final plat and conditional use permit

The Victoria Planning Commission on June 16 voted to recommend that the City Council approve the final plat and conditional use permit for Hotel Victoria, a proposed 46‑unit boutique hotel at 7929 Victoria Drive.

City planner explained staff is reviewing a final plat and a conditional use permit request because the project proposes shared parking in lieu of meeting a 46‑space code requirement. The hotel’s underground garage would provide 41 stalls; the CUP asks to count five on‑street stalls on the south side of Steiger Lake Lane as shared parking. Staff said the shared stalls are the most practical adjacent spaces and that the CUP could include conditions such as a staging plan, an approved encroachment agreement for building overhangs and balconies, and written approval from Carver County for on‑street modifications.

The hotel’s representative outlined the project schedule if approvals go forward: roughly two months of final engineering, a five‑week bidding period, five weeks for permits, a February 2027 construction start, and a targeted opening in spring 2028. The applicant said the project includes covered parking for 41 stalls, a fitness center, meeting rooms, and a lobby with a breakfast bar.

Commissioners focused on how the five shared on‑street stalls would be signed and used, and whether valet or paid parking at the hotel would make the shared stalls effectively unavailable to the public. One commissioner voiced concern that free or hotel‑prioritized spaces could be used first by guests, reducing public availability during peak summer months. Staff and the applicant said the shared parking request follows city practice used for earlier downtown projects, that the spaces would be signed for hotel use but available to the public when not occupied, and that valet/charging policies had not yet been finalized. Staff noted the commission could recommend conditions such as hourly restrictions for those stalls if the council wanted to limit duration.

Staff also told the commission the project must secure coordination for staging with 1600 Arboretum Boulevard and written approval from Carver County before angled stalls could be constructed on county‑owned right‑of‑way.

After discussion, a commissioner moved and the commission seconded a recommendation that the City Council approve the Hotel Victoria final plat and conditional use permit; the motion carried by voice vote.

The recommendation will go to the City Council for final action; staff outlined conditions and required county approvals that council review would need to confirm.