In a unanimous vote during a meeting on Thursday, the Turlock Planning Commission officially approved that the building of a new Marriott TownePlace hotel be categorically exempt from the Westside Industrial Specific Plan’s 35-foot height limit. The exemption, and the project as a whole, was strongly recommended by City staff.
The vote came after the Commission reviewed similar projects around the City of Turlock. In a slideshow presented by Turlock Senior Planner Adrienne Werner, it was shown that there are six hotels in the city that currently stand over 35 feet high from grade to highest point. Nevertheless, with this latest exemption, the proposed four-story Marriott TownePlace hotel at 201 N. Tully Rd. will stand at 61 feet and 6 inches from grade to highest point. With these measurements, it will be the highest hotel in Turlock by 1 foot and 6 inches.
Prior to the vote, the Commission also considered testimony from a Turlock resident living in the Danielle Estates residential area across from the proposed hotel. Werner shared that the resident submitted a letter to the Commission expressing their concern over privacy.
“The resident was not necessarily concerned of the hotel being built or the project, but they were concerned about the height of a four-story hotel being able to look into their backyards across the street,” Werner explained.
While it was not required for the applicant, BM5 Hospitality LLC. of Sacramento, to conduct and submit a line-of-sight illustration because of the fact the hotel would not be sharing boundaries with any residentially zoned property, Commissioner Ray Souza suggested that a line-of-sight study be conducted. The request of a study was included in the approved motion that granted the applicant an exemption from the height limit.
There were no public comments during the discussion of the issue during Thursday evening’s meeting.
The Marriott TownePlace project includes a 4-story, 91-room hotel on a 2-acre parcel located at N. Tully Rd. The lot is next to the Comfort Suites and Days Inn on N. Tully Road. A total of 88 onsite parking spaces will be built. Additional improvements include paving, parking lot striping, lighting, fenced outdoor pool area and landscaping. A minimum 15-foot-wide landscape bed will be required to be planted along North Tully Road. A 10-foot-wide landscape area will be required along the west property line abutting the Highway 99 frontage as well as parking lot shade trees and landscape islands planted throughout the project site. All new landscaping must comply with the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance.
The project would also include curb, gutter and sidewalk improvements adjacent to the hotel.
