Astoria again denies hotel appeal
Apr. 20—The Astoria City Council tentatively denied a one-year permit extension for a four-story hotel on the Columbia River for the second time, blaming the developer for dragging his feet before using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse for more time.
Bellingham, Washington, developer Mark Hollander received approval in December 2018 from the City Council to build a four-story Fairfield Inn & Suites for the hotel chain Marriott. The approval came after denial of the project by the Design Review Commission and the Historic Landmarks Commission.
Public backlash against the project led the City Council to amend city code created through the Riverfront Vision Plan guiding development along the water. New development rules shrunk building heights and masses along the river to protect views.
Hollander made little progress, despite a growing sentiment and new rules against projects like his hotel. He applied for a one-year extension in April 2020, shortly after the beginning of a pandemic he argued made hotel financing impossible.
City staff denied his request, noting the lack of progress compared to similar projects, such as the Bowline Hotel under construction near Buoy Beer Co. and a Hilton Home2 Suites planned near the New Youngs Bay Bridge.
The City Council affirmed city staff's denial, which Hollander appealed to the state Land Use Board of Appeals. The appeals board sent the issue back to the city for further review.
Without a permit extension, the project would fall under the more restrictive development rules.
On Monday, Hollander shared his frustration with the city for changing the rules after his permit approval and creating uncertainty about what he could build.
"As a developer, I have to take a pause," he said. "I have to think about, 'Let's let the smoke clear and see what the city's next move is in terms of changing the goal post on the waterfront.'"
Hollander and his attorney, Steven Hultberg, have argued that only the poor economic conditions when he applied for a permit extension matter to granting him more time. They submitted evidence from lenders detailing the difficulty in financing projects.
"When the bank says, 'Look, we're stopping construction lending,' you can't build," Hollander said. "Pretty much all of hotels are built with lending, and are invested in with lending."
The appeals board asked the city for a deeper explanation as to why it didn't rely on Hollander's proof of bad economic conditions. City Attorney Blair Henningsgaard argued Monday that Hollander has never produced any evidence showing he was denied financing.
"If he got a denial letter, was unable to obtain financing, that'd be a simple thing to establish," Henningsgaard said.
Rosemary Johnson, a planning consultant for the city, laid out evidence of a healthy hotel market before the pandemic and progress on the other hotels. She said Hollander made no contact with city staff between when his building permits were originally approved and when he asked for an extension.
Mayor Bruce Jones voted as a city councilor in 2018 to approve Hollander's project based on existing code before the amendments to address public concerns over losing waterfront views. On Monday, Jones said Hollander's comments about the Riverfront Vision Plan proved that economic conditions weren't the ultimate reason he made no progress.
"There were a variety of other things happening in the community that caused him to pause moving forward on building the four-story hotel that had already been permitted," Jones said. "And then the pandemic happened, and that was kind of a good timing to have a reason to ask for the extension."
The City Council is expected to approve a final order in early May denying the permit extension. Hollander will have three weeks afterward to appeal again to the state.
