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NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick. At far left, architect renderings of the proposed Hampton Inn & Suites for Flagler Avenue, New Smyrna Beach. At left, Diane Hughes speaks against the112-room, three-story hotel. In the center photo is David Swenton, the developer and at right is Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce President Robert Lott, who supports the hotel.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The proposed $15 million hotel for Flagler Avenue moved closer to reality tonight with City Commission approval on a pair of land-use ordinances, despite two no votes, including that of City Commissioner Randy Richenberg, who is up for re-election in Tuesday's general election.
Richenberg did not give a reason for his no-vote on the second of the two ordinances and could not be reached for comment following the meeting.
The other no votes came from City Commissioner James Hathaway, who voiced concerns about the timetable for building it and intimating it was too large. Supporting the project were commissioners Jack Grasty, who won re-election in the Sept. 22 primary and Commissioner Lynne Plaskett. Mayor Sally Mackay, who is up for re-election, also voted for the ordinances.
Mayoral challenger Adam Barringer, and Judy Reiker, who is Richenberg's challenger for his Zone 1 seat, both support the proposed $15 million Hampton Inn & Suites.
The votes followed lengthy discussion, with several nearby residents saying they were against the project while three times as many Flagler Avenue merchants, led by Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce President Robert Lott, whose financial business is on Flagler Avenue, pleaded with the commission to support the hotel's passage.
Lott, also owner of the weekly Observer newspper on Canal Street, said the economic conditions of Flagler are such that if business do not receive a shot in the arm that the hotel would generate, then "We might as well put up the sign on (Interstate ) 95 'don't come here.'"
Adelle Aletti, head of the Flagler Merchants Association, added, "I feel like we're stuck in the mud."
Diane Hughes, one of several residents opposed to the hotel said she was concerned about parking, but more so just the idea of such a large-scale development on an already congested Flagler Avenue.
"Why can't you consider the North Causeway?" Hughes asked while another resident, Gordon Smith added, "As far as a hotel goes, size does matter."
The first vote was to amend the comprehensive plan amendment from a commercial lasnd-use designation to a hospitality land use designation.
The second vote was to rezone the property from a mixed use to a planning unit development, designating it exclusively for use as a hotel.
Those votes pave the way for final site plan aproval by the city's Planning Board on Monday.
The 112-room hotel, to be built at 214 Flagler Ave., would back into Florida Avenue, with a three-story structure that looks like twin Florida-style homes totalling 67,575 square feet with a third of that being the base. It would be set back 15 feet from Flagler. The hotel would be 35 feet high with the exception of eaves that would peak at 42 feet.
About a third of the 1.7 acres would be open space with 62 parking spaces.