Hotel expansion breezes through architectural review despite earlier resident concerns

One week after the Palm Springs Planning Commission received dozens of public comments opposing a hotel expansion project, the city’s Architectural Review Committee unanimously approved the development with minimal discussion during its Jan. 21 meeting.

The project, submitted by o2 architecture on behalf of the property owner, will transform the former hotel site at 1973 North Palm Canyon Drive into a 179-room hotel with a new restaurant on the 4.23-acre property. The site previously operated as a Days Inn with 107 rooms and is currently vacant.

The Planning Commission approved the project on Jan. 13 after receiving about 70 written public comments, with many opposing the project’s CEQA analysis and expressing concerns over potential noise, traffic and dust impacts to nearby residences. A few nearby residents and members of Unite Here Local also spoke in opposition to the project’s CEQA exemption with similar comments.

Planning Commission Vice Chair Lauri Aylaian called the 70 letters sent to the commission two hours before the meeting “disingenuous,” and another commissioner similarly called the letters “fear-mongering.” Aylaian said the long-vacant site “is a detriment to the neighborhood” and added that “this project is a good thing.”

At the ARC meeting, committee members focused their discussion primarily on design elements, landscaping and traffic flow within the site rather than the broader environmental and neighborhood impact concerns raised at the Planning Commission.

The development includes five buildings with a mix of renovation and new construction. Building A, an existing hotel structure, will be renovated and expanded from 53 rooms to 59 rooms, while Building C will be an entirely new two-story hotel with 72 rooms. Building D, an existing 29-room single-story hotel, will be rehabilitated and expanded with a second story. Building E will house a new restaurant and lobby fronting Palm Canyon Drive.

Lance O’Donnell of o2 architecture — who also serves as chair of the ARC and therefore recused himself from the discussion — presented the project to the committee. The proposed design features white and tan stucco to complement existing stone on the buildings. Building A will include solar panels to support the entire development, and all buildings will have flat roofs with mechanical equipment screened from public view.

The landscape plan calls for drought-tolerant trees and plants with increased shade throughout the parking lot. Once mature, trees within the parking lot will provide at least 50% coverage, meeting code requirements. The applicant modified the parking plan to reduce the number of required parking spaces slightly and increase landscape area along the north and south boundaries.

Committee members raised concerns about the size of the single pool for 179 rooms and potential traffic congestion at access points near the north end of the property. One committee member noted that the proximity of two access points close together could create a choke point for traffic entering and exiting the complex.

Despite these concerns, the committee voted unanimously to approve the project with one condition requiring the relocation of an accessibility lift at Building B.

---