There were a few notable happenings at the March 13th Snoqualmie City Council Meeting, which are recapped below.
Hotel Closer to Reality
The city council unanimously approved two components needed for a developer to move a proposed 97-room hotel/retail project forward on Snoqualmie Ridge at the corner of Center Street and Snoqualmie Parkway.
1) They approved amendments to the Snoqualmie Ridge Mixed Use Final Plan, Snoqualmie Ridge Development Standards, and Business Park Binding Site Improvement Plan, including reducing the current 50-foot setback from Snoqualmie Parkway to [average] 15 feet; adding a right in/out lane into the development off Snoqualmie Parkway; and allowing 5-story structures with the maximum height of 60 feet. [The amendments are for this project only.]
2) The council also approved a resolution authorizing the mayor enter into a development agreement for the project with the owners of the land parcel where the proposed hotel is slated to be located – parcel 20 across Center Street from Chase Bank.
Council member Brad Toft said approximately 25 people showed up at Monday’s 7PM public hearing for the project, with the majority in attendance opposed. Toft commented that most stated they weren’t objecting to a hotel in Snoqualmie, but were opposed to the specific location.
Over the past month many residents have voiced objections to the proposed hotel’s size and very close proximity to Snoqualmie Parkway, as well as the loss of the existing large buffering trees. Opponents stated the hotel would will ruin views and the neighborhood character of Snoqualmie Ridge.
Toft commented, “I think the people who attended last night’s meeting saw a very deliberative process on the part of city staff and the council. And even if some don’t like the decision to proceed with the project, I think that city staff and the developer paid close attention to the issues that were of concern.”
With these [above] two components approved by council, the developer can now pursue other project requirements, like submitting building applications and applying for permits.
City of Snoqualmie Senior Planner Bend Swanson stated in January that the developer hopes to begin construction spring/summer of 2017.
Mayor Larson has Challenger
Council members Toft and Prewitt said former Snoqualmie Mayor Fuzzy Fletcher made a brief announcement during Monday’s meeting – that he will challenge current Mayor Matt Larson in the 2017 mayoral election. Larson announced last month he will seek a fourth term.
Fletcher served two terms as mayor, from 1998-2005. Before that he served as a city council member. Fletcher stepped down as mayor after two terms, telling the Seattle Times at the time that he wanted to spend more time with his family.
Council member Prewitt said Fletcher also mentioned that he knew of two other residents whom he expects to also announce plans to run for mayor. If that happens, it would set up a summer primary, with the two top voter-getters moving onto the November general election.
Second Council Member Announces will seek re-election
The second of four city council members up for re-election this year, Kathi Prewitt, announced she would seek re-election. Prewitt has served on city council since 2004. Five of those years she also served as Mayor Pro-tem.
The terms of Council Members Bryan Holloway and Heather Munden also expire at year-end, but neither commented about their re-election plans during the meeting.
Comments
OF COURSE this big eyesore is closer to a reality. Did anyone possibly think we had any influence whatsoever when objecting to it? All we are asked to suggest are some empty words that will be antiquated in no time with the type of choices the city council is making for our community.. It’s beyond unfortunate, they are destroying the Ridge’s future. Greed has taken over, what else is new?! So sorry we didn’t have the correct city council in place to make the right decisions for our area. I have a feeling when all Ridge residents are made aware of this 5 story motel/hotel going in this ridiculous location, the listings of homes will increase and we will no longer have a lack of inventory. And propert values will go down. The Ridge had just finally recovered from the devastating years of the real estate bubble. The Ridge was hit harder than many areas on the east side. Our area is finally becoming more desirable to buyers. I have friends on the east side that have been seriously considering moving out here. Not now, after they saw the architectural drawings for the proposed motel/hotel they have changed their mind. They now don’t want to take a chance on investing in property on the Ridge. We shot ourselves in the foot, but we didn’t ask for this, we can thank the city Council for this decision. I hope the revenue pleases you as you see the community increase in crime and pollution.
Hi Cameron,
A group of residents against the hotel are meeting with Fuzzy Sunday. It would be good to connect.
Peggyshepard@comcast.net
Adding insult to injury, this 5-story monstrocity will only have a 15ft. setback. Really? Just one more bad decision by the city council.. Oh goody a 60ft. height limit in this structure. Do you know what the view will look like at that stoplight when you drive up to it? A view of cement! A cement jungle. I just wonder how many people on the Ridge are actually from this area and understand the beauty of Western Washington. Just got off the phone with one of my real estate broker friend’s who has actively worked in this area for a long time. She is considering moving and is getting a lot of calls from people that feel the same way. Maybe the vision statement or any of the statements should have something about how successfully Snoqualmie has chased people away. Hello, look at Issaquah Highlands, at least they provided some stores for people to patronize. A hotel will do ZERO for us except house a few relatives occasionally. I’m sorry, I don’t care about that, that doesn’t improve our lives 365 days a year. The difference in Snoqualmie opposed to Sammamish and Issaquah Highlands is that we have so much natural beauty because we haven’t over built the area. Between the motel/hotel and the possibiltiy of the retirement community it will change the area forever.
So, the citizens of the town don’t want a hotel in the middle of town. The elected officials basically respond with a big **** You to the people who’s interest they are supposed to represent. Yup, must be America!
Hi Brett,
A group of residents are meeting with Fuzzy Sunday who are against the hotel. It would be good to connect with like minded residents.
Peggyshepard@comcast.net
We attended the Public Hearing last night. Not one citizen wanted the hotel in that location. All mentioned that the hotel would ruin the view and tone of the town center with a giant cement wall blocking view of the mountains.
One group of organized residents pointed out that residents living within a 500 feet from the new structure were to be notified of the plans to build per a city ordinance. That did not happen. The entire “public hearing” was a sham. The council had already decided that they were going to vote for the Hotel in that location before the meeting.
Some negative consequences of this hotel in addition to devalueing property in the area is additional costs to infrastructure to support the new businesses. The fire department doesn’t have a ladder truck that could reach five stories. The city will have to purchase one, an additional costs to tax payers. A hotel would have additional need for fire/medical services as well. Again an additinal cost to taxpayers. In previous town meetings the mayor has proposed that businesses such as a hotel would provide the city with additional revenues and drive property taxes down.
Yeah it will drive it down but no for the reasons he thinks, our properties will be devalued and that will drive it down. Nobody wants to see a giant concrete wall where you know can see Mt. Si. Meanwile city costs will rise due to increase in fire/police/emergency services and equipment needs.
The majority of the residents are opposed to this plan. The council unanimously approves every single request from the developer. How does this make any sense? This moderately-priced (yeah right, with that view of the mountains, more like premium-priced) hotel will do nothing at all for the residents or the city. We’re just allowing some developer to get rich off of our view and location. This must be a cash windfall for the city council members, sure wish I were one of them!
This sort of thing should make it an easy choice for all of us to vote for the challenger when these people come back up for re-election.
The mayor and Snoqualmie city council have a history of doing what they want no matter how much the city residents disagree. The “community center” bonds were turned down multiple times, before they found a way to have a community center, which is actually a private YMCA. The Tokul road round-about that no one wanted to pay for. The high class city hall that is still not paid for. Now, the mayor and city council want a hotel. At a horrible location. So, they go ahead and do it no matter how much the people they represent disagree with them. They aren’t listening to us, the little people. They are doing what they want to do, and having these “public hearings” only because they are required to. The voice of the resident is lost to them – they are ignoring us.
The only solution is to vote them out.
Hi Mike, residents against the hotel are meeting with Fuzzy Sunday. It would be good to connect.
Peggyshepard@comcast.net
The council’s role is to determine whether any proposed project fits the Master Plan created in 2007 conforms to the spirit and intent. They did this while hearing many points of view. The developer has invested considerable time and investment to bring this proposal forward.
These are the pertinent questions: Does it fulfill a need? Does it help enhance and compliment existing services? Does it mean additional tax revenues? Create more jobs?
The setback requirement is modified but allows a 40 foot buffer from the curb of the street. The building height is allowed up to 60 feet in the business park will be 47 feet above grade.
I appreciate all the members of our community who attended the meeting and voiced there concerns. It is part of the process.
For the record, there were people who spoke favorably about the project. The seven member Economic Development Commission (of which I am one) voted unanimously in favor of the proposal and I personally spoke on an individual basis.
There were a number of assertions and assumptions brought forward by those opposing that were addressed by closer inspection. 100 year trees that were logged off 40 some years ago, traffic capacity, increased crime happening a block from the police station and other public safety issues.
As a longtime Valley resident, parent and actively involved community member, I applaud this proposal for the positive things it will bring.
And now my in-laws will have a very nice place to stay when they visit instead of staying a hotel in Issaquah.
Rob W – what a load of crap. I am glad the in-laws you obviously you dislike will now have a place to stay. You must be relieved. Glad you get relief on the backs of Snoqualmie citizens that largely will have no use for this hotel, and will likely never set foot in it. My in-laws stay with me… because a lot of us have… well.. large houses. You are also missing at least a couple key questions. For example – Is this the right location? Clearly, given that it occupies a key piece of our town center, with no apparent benefit to actual citizens, and will look mighty crappy in doing so, “No” this is not the right location. Mr. Mayor and city council – I look forward to not only voting against you but actively campaigning against you as well. It’s on. Hilton developer. Just a head’s up. You have pissed off a community here. Do not be surprised if social media – like maybe negative hotel reviews – sinks your business. I ‘m just saying.
If “The council’s role is to determine whether any proposed project fits the Master Plan”, then why is there a vote by registered voters for a council. What happened to honoring the master plan for residents? That 50 foot buffer is there for the residential side of Snoqualmie Parkway and for the scenic view driving down Snoqualmie Parkway.
The existing residential part of the master plan is not being honored. The city council has failed at their job, if the test of whether they are doing their job is to determine whether a proposed project fits the master plan, because this project does not fit the master plan. I can’t understand how the council members, city staff, and mayor have missed this? Or did they? The notice was not mailed to any residents for this project. The resident that will be most impacted did not receive a written notice. The mayor and city attorney advised planning commission members and city council not to pay attention to the residents that came to the public hearings, because they had to represent all of the city. But they didn’t survey the city, they didn’t even send the mailed notice to the residents within just 500 feet of the project as is required by municipal code. Good luck finding anything on the city website, try going to their site, use the search button and try to find the word “agenda”, no results.
If there are amendments to the existing code, doesn’t that mean the amended project does not fit the master plan? The developer investment was the developer’s choice, we are not required to amend anything – we don’t owe the developer anything. The master plan is being changed without consent by the residents.
Does it enhance existing services? No, what services does this enhance? What is the basis for assuming this does enhance services – survey? study? how is this detemined?
Issaquah now has a moratorium on development, in their 6 month moratorium they have put into plan a community outreach, our city claimed that they have done the least required in terms of notice; in Issaquah they are scheduling community outreach by neighborhood, they are bringing in real estate assessor professionals to determine impact on residences. Issaquah city council unanimously voted for the moratorium on development, and unanimously extended it another 6 months.
Does it fulfill a need? No, what is the evidence that we MUST have a hotel at that location – this is ludicrous! What about the hotels in Issaquah? You bet this hotel will be competing with them, the lowest price wins.
Does it mean additional tax revenue? The jury is out on what revenue from the hotel will be. There was nothing offered that remotely suggests an actual analysis on tax revenue income will be significant. There were some very high level numbers without any information on basis. I did a lot of sleuthing to determine that the city represented that the hotel is expected to be at 100% occupancy, at $200/night with 99 rooms. The reality is that the average occupancy of a hotel is 60%. The room rate will have to be competitive with Issaquah in order to even get 60% occupancy. Issaquah Holiday Inn is $99 for April 21st, so their forecast for a room rate is double what the reality is.
As far as when the project will be completed, the developer has projects in North Bend, Issaquah, Bellevue, and two projects in Seattle. All of the projects started years ago, almost no progress on any of them, and North Bend was applied for in 2011.
The environment impact study is from 1995, the trees are 100 years old that will be cut down.
The police chief said off the cuff that there will be no crime to speak of for this type of hotel. Another police professional at the meeting who doesn’t work for the mayor said just the opposite. Was there a study to determine what safety impacts there might be.
Back to city websites, and how disfunctional Snoqualmie’s is – the city of Issaquah’s police department has a site where you can enter a time period for police reports on a map, and the results were that for the Holiday Inn at 1801 12th Ave NW, Issaquah, WA 98027; there were 61 incidents in the area – 31 were from the Holiday Inn. More than half of them were from the Holiday Inn. This is our neighboring city, within the last 6 months, more than half of the police reports were at the Holiday Inn.
I would love to send anyone who is interested the picture of this map.
Would you buy a house across the street from a 5 story hotel?
Regarding the trees having been logged off some 40 years ago, the county has aerial photos from 1998: http://gismaps.kingcounty.gov/iMap/?esearch=7851800200¢er=-13566492%2C6028904&scale=2256.994353&
Those trees are there, even more in 1998 than there are today. Sometime between 2000 and 2002 more of the trees on the lot were cleared, but the trees along the parkway are still standing.
How would you determine the age of a tree? At the city council meeting there was chuckling about using a website from Cornell University as not being a reliable way to determine the age of a tree – how would you determine the age of a tree?
I only know that having grown up near the forests of the Olympic Peninsula, they used to drill a core sample out, count the number of rings and reinsert the core. As a Scout I planted trees that today are as big as these. I recall freshly planted cuts where freeways were widened when I was a kid in Western Washington and those mature trees are now larger than these and tree farms that were clear cut and now have mature trees. These are not 100 year old trees. If you look up the hill along the power lines those taller trees are older but probably not much more than 60 years old. If you find old stumps those trees were much larger in circumference and you can count those rings from the middle out, those trees were much older. If you go downtown North Bend and compare the historical pictures you will find a barren landscape, most of the trees were planted since the white settlers arrived and some of those are bigger than what is on the Ridge. I am not as much an expert on the First People who hunted and gathered crops long before most of our families. Surely the landscape has changed over the centuries and will continue to do so. We picked this for our home 18 years ago and we enjoy living here. Development is part of maintaining a healthy, vibrant community. We prefer to shop, work, raise our family and spend as much time here as possible. Every time we can avoid leaving the Valley makes us happy. And we have a choice. Snoqualmie Valley may not be the right choice for everyone, that’s okay too.
Wow. Way to make the ridge look like Tukwila. Our elected officials are terrible.
Hi Garrett,
A group of residents are meeting with Fuzzy Sunday who are against the hotel. It would be good if residents that are like minded connect.
Peggyshepard@comcast.net
Pathetic. A concrete monster that few residents will ever set foot in. I kind of knew the city council would ignore all the opposition – they have been doing this for years. I will actively campaign against the mayor and his demontrable lack of judgement.
Hi Tom,
We are meeting with Fuzzy Sunday, a group of residents who are against the hotel. It would be great if residents who are like minded connect.
Peggyshepard@comcast.net
Why do the citizens of Snoqualmie and Issaquah as well keep electing the same people to the Mayor’s office and to the city councils. Until you vote out incumbents it will continue as is.
Hi Margaret,
A group of residents against the hotel are meeting with Fuzzy Sunday. We are against the hotel, therefore against voting for the mayor and city council. It would be good to connect with residents who feel the same.
Peggyshepard@comcast.net
I’m sorry, but the fact that “the developer has invested considerable time and investment to bring this proposal forward” is NOT a persuasive argument in this case. The developer is going to make a fortune off of this expensive hotel, so why on earth would I care how much time and investment they have put into this proposal? Does it fulfill a need in the community? No, probably not. If you’ve bought into the idea that this hotel is going to be full of in-laws and relatives of residents, you’ve been fooled. On a daily basis, the hotel is going to be full of random people from I-90. Does it create jobs? For the people who live in Auburn and Renton, yes it does. Anyone thinking this hotel is going to ‘hire local’ has also been fooled. The cheap labor drives up 18 to get here and it will do nothing to create jobs locally. Does it enhance the local businesses? No one is going to walk across the parkway to come eat at the restaurants on Center. No one walks from a hotel to a restaurant unless it is attached and they certainly don’t walk across a large busy road. They will get in their car and then head somewhere with a lot more dining choices. This plan is so full of misleading statements and inaccuracies and fantasies about some thriving pedestrian shopping district that simply does not exist here and honestly never will.
Hi Tom,
A group of residents are meeting with Fuzzy on Sunday who are against the hotel. It would be good if residents who are like minded connected.
Peggyshepard@comcast.net
#FUZZY2017 I wish I could vote!!
Hi Rachel, we are meeting with Fuzzy Sunday. It would be great to connect with residents who are against the hotel and therefore against city council.
Peggyshepard@comcast.net
This is probably all just a clever plan by some local hippie activists to stop the Snoqualmie Hills West project. When the hotel is built, yes, home prices will plummet, real estate inventory will increase dramatically, and a new 1200 home development right next door will no longer be economically feasible.
Yeah, I know. Just adding to the ridiculousness that life in this town has become.
Fletcher next time around, definitely. He has this habit (rare among politicians) of not only listening, but acting on, what the people that elect him have to say. Odd concept, eh Larson?
Hi Chris,
We are meeting with Fuzzy Sunday.
It would be great to connect with residents who are against the hotel, therefore not voting for the mayor and city council.
Peggyshepard@comcast.net
I am so not in favor of this hotel whatsoever!!! This is not for the occasional visiting relative. This is for the drunk gamblers of Snoqualmie Casino… here comes the big Casino shuttle bus going up and down the parkway several times a day, drivers wreaking of booze, and those shopping at the outlet malls and visiting the falls who can not afford the Salish. Why do we need some wretched low end chain hotel just a few feet away from the Parkway and our homes? Seems if we must have a hotel, it should be next to I-90 or even better, let’s have a smaller boutique hotel that mimics the success of what McMenamins has created with their hotel properties. A big low budget hotel/motel will be just another bruise on what was once a beautiful place to live. Fuzzy Fletcher 2017!
I believe the hotel discussed as a possibility for this proposed site was a Hampton Inn. It doesn’t appear to be that low budget. I looked at prices at the Hampton Inn near downtown Bellevue, Hampton Inn at SeaTac Airport and the Salish Lodge – plugged in April 10th as a random date to see what prices came up. Bellevue Hampton in came it at $241 per night. Hampton SeaTac at $168 per night. The Salish Lodge came in at $239 per night. These were all titled the ‘best available’ rates for the same April 10th night.
Go to Google Maps, find the hotel in Bellevue and look at it from the street view, the building is not much more than a beige box. It is located off the 405, there isn’t a residence within at least a mile of it. $98 – 11405 Northeast 2nd Place, Bellevue, Washington; April 21-22 – with an AARP discount. People rarely pay the “list” price for a room, there are so many discounts. April 21-22 – SeaTac $94 18850 28th Avenue South, SeaTac – no discount, next door to the Comfort Inn.
I don’t have AAA or qualify for AARP so I wouldn’t qualify for these Bellevue Hampton Inn rates. I would expect SeaTac airport Hampton Inn to be in this $100 price range and was surprised it wasn’t for that April 10th date. We travel a lot. I have always considered Hampton Inn mid range, but if you characterize it as low range that’s your personal judgement. It seems – based on info released about this proposed project – it isn’t going to be designed the same as this ‘beige box’ in Bellevue. As it also is not in a similar area as the Bellevue location – nor the SeaTac location,, it seems this might influence the price of rooms as well.
The developer has projects in North Bend, Issaquah, Bellevue and two in Seattle – all of them were started between 2011 and 2015; none of them have a foundation. There are no complete projects by this developer that I am aware of. An illustration is not the final product; what assurances are there that the project will be completed, and based on city records of these cities – numerous changes are made before pouring a foundation.
The developer took the extra step to specify that this will be a Hilton-branded hotel (Hampton Inn), and if this changes they would need approval from the city council. They are projecting room rates to be $149-$199 a night.
Can anyone find a five story hotel that is across the street from a residence? The location of this is ridiculous! Rob Wotton, would you buy a home across the street from a 5 story hotel? What will happen to the home values for residents across the street? I believe they will plummet. Poor developer, their tax bill is addressed to Medina. I have no sympathy, they have a lot of money and they can afford to gamble on things like this.
Hi Peggy – it was my understanding that whole building would not be 5 stories and that 60 foot height limit on the structure wasn’t changed – i.e. the business park design standards always had a 60 foot limit for potential warehouses and businesses, but ‘5-stories’ language had to be added. It was my understanding that the portion of the building that would be 5 stories is also the portion that is the most recessed into the property’s down hill slope – i.e. so from the portion of the Parkway where the 5-story part is located, it will look the same height as the 4-story section. Maybe I am remembering wrong, though. For clarity, it might be good to note that that the residences across from the proposed hotel are condos, which are typically located near busier roads and commercial areas by developers and planners. There are other nearby condos across from the Gateway Gas Station and the soon to be Safeway retail complex. I don’t believe the property value for those units have decreased due to their proximity to commercial properties. Also for clarity, it could be good to note these condos/residences you reference are located across a 4-lane (5 where turn lanes exist), busy 40-mph roadway, which you reference as a street.
Please reply with an address of any 5 story hotel that is that close to a residence. Do we throw a resident under the bus because they own a condo? A resident is a resident, we all deserve respect!
The hotel is allowed to be 5 stories, the language of the amendment will dictate the final product – the pictures are not the final version. If you look up their other projects you will see a number of revisions to the first proposal. Even though the hill slopes down, the point that the residents across from the hotel will be looking up at 60 feet right on the sidewalk, that will be a wall of windows with hotel guests looking into their home.
Would you buy a home (of any kind) across the street from a 5 story hotel?
I guess downtown Bellevue is an example of residences/condos very close to hotels. Having watched retail developments go up on the Ridge since their inception almost two decades ago, one of the biggest complaints lodged by developers is the strict design standards laid down by the city, which has impacted the price of leases (higher than in Issaquah, Bellevue, etc), at least according to the developer of the retail buildings on Center Street. The city was also very strict with how the the gas station had to be designed. While I agree that the final project can change from early pictures, it seems the city does have a history of imposing high design standards on retail developers. Based on that I would expect that trend to continue with the hotel development as it has with the Safeway development.The language of the new amendments, along with the existing language of high building design standards, will both most definitely dictate the building’s final design.
Which hotel?
Bellevue Hyatt, Bellevue Westin, Courtyard by Marriott, Bellevue Marriott. Lots of hotels in downtown Bellevue with apartment buildings/condos very nearby.
Bellevue Hyatt, 10401 NE 4th St.
Closest apartment: 900 Bellevue Way NE
Not across the street, 0.4 miles away, on a second floor or higher; that is 2,112 feet away from the hotel.
I suspect the person in that apartment knew about the hotel, the hotel doesn’t block their view.
The resident across from the Snoqualmie hotel is less than 500 feet away directly across the street – the hotel will completely block their view. This example isn’t even close to what the hotel in Snoqualmie will do to the resident across the street. Do you have a better example?
You can look at google maps to get this information.
Do you want Snoqualmie to look like Bellevue? That is not what the municipal code talks about for the environment for the city, and not what I signed up for when I moved here.
You simply asked a question. Having stayed in multiple Bellevue hotels, this came to mind. I don’t have time to google the address of each hotel and search out which buildings near it might be apartments and/or condos. Having used this as an example also does not mean I wish for our city to be Bellevue. No one disagrees this will be a big change in our city, and especially for the few condo owners between Fairway Ave and the grocery story who will see it out their side windows, but it still sounds like the planning department is committed to making the proposed development adhere to high design standards – the same high design standards the rest of the retail area has hand to adhere to and what makes it look nicer than typical strip mall areas. Based on developer sketches it appears the hotel will be shorter than the trees currently buffering the Parkway. If that’s true than views of the mountains shouldn’t be lost…. albeit a very different view in the forefront – i.e. trees vs. a building.
So you don’t know of a hotel that big, that close to a residence, and I’m guessing that you would not buy a house that close to a hotel.
Didn’t say any of those things, Peggy.
Same question –
Do you know of a 5 story hotel that close to a residence?
Would you buy a house across the street from a hotel?
Rob – where did you see what they are projecting room rates to be?
The idea to have them specify the Hampton Inn came after the gentleman from Abby Road said it was possible, and he brought that up to the council after one of my slides asking how do we know it won’t be a Motel 6. Why doesn’t city council know that they can stipulate a franchise? Do you know why I asked how do we know it won’t be a Motel 6, because one of the people that I represented against this project has worked for years in the county assessors office for San Bernardino, CA. She has been responsible for assessing property worth over $200M. Her assessment of this hotel is that in a couple of years it won’t make it. If the hotel starts as one franchise, there is no guarantee that the hotel will be able to maintain that franchise. If the hotel loses that franchise name, they lose access to the reservation system and promotion – etc.
Hi Danna,
I’ve had the pleasure of staying at a brand new Hampton Inn on a business trip a little less than two years ago. I can honestly confirm that it felt low budget. I’m not talking Motel 6 but this is a step below a Hilton Garden Inn which is about the lowest category that I would be comfortable with. Hampton Inn had very small rooms which were very basic (think carpet tiles, vinyl floors in the bathroom, nightstands built into the walls, and essentially zero sound proofing). It was definitely a far cry from what the Salish offers and a step down from what most business travelers are accustomed to. Sure there was a swimming pool but it was about the size of a single car garage and full of screaming kids so I did not have an opportunity to “enjoy” it (I was there for three nights and did not get to step foot in the pool once because of the crowds). I’d love to think of Snoqualmie as a nice slightly upper end community however I do honestly believe that a Hampton Inn would be Snoqualmie essentially dropping the bar…lowering their standards. This Hampton Inn was originally slated to go in North Bend near the Outlet malls…. this in my opinion would have been a perfect place for this kind of chain and certainly a wonderful upgrade for North Bend which consists of two extremely low budget motels. But I’d love to think that Snoqualmie has slightly higher standards… whatever goes in will have to compete with the Salish and will be essentially the sole lodging provider to the Casino for years to come. I am not looking forward to the traffic or clientele that this low budget chain will bring our beautiful community.
Hi CHD,
A group of residents in opposition to the hotel are meeting with Fuzzy Sunday.
It would be great to connect with everyone that feels the same.
Peggyshepard@comcast.net
I would like a recall election for the mayor and city council. With this project they have demonstrated that they intentionally are not representing me and most of the residents I know. They did not notify the residents within the 500 foot radius of the project while notifying businesses in Snoqualmie, Bellevue and other cities.
We (eight of us) went to the planning commission meeting in opposition to the project. I spoke first and then they decided to put a time limit on the public because I had gone through pages of research about the project. The commissioners wanted to be agreeable with both sides, the commissioners stated several times that they felt pressured into making a decision and wanted to continue to another meeting. The city attorney and city planner said they must make a decision that night and not to pay attention to the residents at the hearing. The planning commission realized how complex the project was and voted against it because several knew it would be objectionable for residents, one commissioner was hoping to work on a compromise. We were there from 7 to after 10 pm, this was the only thing on the agenda. The planning commission voted against the amendments.
Next our group met with the mayor and city staff, I brought slides and made a video to demonstrate the impact the hotel will have from Snoqualmie Parkway, I asked numerous times for the architect to provide a sight view analysis. Mark Hoffman said he would do that, but never did – this was a perspective the same architect did for the project in Issaquah. They don’t want you to see how the hotel will impact residents. The only thing residents directly across the street will be able to see from their windows facing Snoqualmie Parkway will be the hotel – where the 100 year old trees are. The mayor and planners claimed that the trees were 20 years old, another time 50 years old, they say the trees aren’t healthy, but have never been specific about what indicates the trees are unhealthy, another time they said the trees aren’t protected by municipal code One person claimed the area was clear cut 40 years ago, but the county maintains aerial maps by year, and there are pictures of the trees looking like they were a substantial size in 1998.
The city council voted unanimously to approve the project with minimal discussion, again the mayor advised city council that disgruntled residents don’t represent all of the city and it is their responsibility to represent all of the city. However there wasn’t any indication that the residents are polled in any way.
I sent an email to city council to let them know my views, one council member responded that it was inappropriate for us to communicate. Then I got an email from one council member from their privare email account, to have coffee. This was after sending them the unanimously approved moratorium by Issaquah’s city council, asking if I am for a moratorium. I was so happy, hoping this might stall the hotel (the council member didn’t indicate that would be possible – but I was still hoping). Then I googled the council person and changed my mind.
I would like to recall the mayor and city council.
There are a group of residents against the hotel who would like to support candidates for city council who are like minded. Please contact me at peggyshepard@comcast.net if you are against the hotel.
Thanks,
Peggy
Can the mayor and city council be sued over this debacle? Enough is enough.