Fact-Checking Concerns about the Hyatt House Hotel

Map-Hyatt

On Sunday morning the Vanguard walked around the proposed Hyatt House site and the adjacent neighborhood with the intention of evaluating the concerns of the neighbors in advance of the Davis Planning Commission meeting this Wednesday.

Our overall impression is that the site, with a greenbelt separating it from neighbors, will be well buffered from the most serious concerns of the neighbors.  Most of the neighborhood will not have direct line sight to the hotel.  The developer has told us that the trees along the greenbelt will remain, many of the neighbors have their own line of trees and, by the far side of Albany, there will be several layers of trees to look through.

The rest of this piece will address some of the more specific concerns of the neighbors as well as present some of the photos taken on the site.

A look at the site along the tree line
A look at the site along the tree line

Safety issues: The neighbors have presented various safety concerns.  There is a foot and bike access point that leads to the greenbelt and through to Albany Ave.  There is certainly some risk there, but how much risk is unclear.  In order to drive into the neighborhood, one would have to drive down Cowell, turn right on Drummond and then right onto Albany and then drive into a residential neighborhood.  That’s a long drive for someone that might potentially look to burglarize homes, and there are far easier targets with better freeway access.  Likewise, it seems unlikely that someone would go on foot or bike with the intention of a break-in.  Without discounting the possibility, there are simply more accessible targets that would not risk going blind into a residential neighborhood.  We therefore categorize this concern as plausible, but low.

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Path enters Albany, accessible for pedestrians and bikes

Significant increase in foot and car traffic:  “According to KD Anderson & Associates, the transportation engineers hired by the project team, traffic impacts are negligible.”  Part of what we learned with the Embassy Suites analysis is that, unlike commercial businesses, there is no peak flow traffic for a hotel, people check in and check out during the course of the day.  They may go somewhere and return, but we are talking about a 120-unit hotel, on a road that is not impacted and again which is far away from the road.

Noise concerns: Walking around the neighborhood we heard motorcycles on the freeway as well as the ambient noise of the freeway.  The hotel will actually reduce that noise, as it will act as a sound wall.  That is what AEC, the acoustical engineering consultants hired by the project team, found.  “I80 road traffic noise is and will remain the existing major source of noise impacting the neighborhood. Sound levels will actually decrease at residences along Albany Avenue due to significant shielding by the proposed hotel building of transportation noise sources.”  This is an example where the hotel will actually improve the quality of life for neighbors rather than reducing it.

Lighting concerns: There are some concerns that there will be additional light pollution from the hotel.  While these seem legitimate on their face, anyone who drives down Cowell at night will note that Davis Diamonds is completely lit up in order to avoid concerns about vandalism.  It is therefore unclear that the hotel will add to those concerns about light.

Height of the hotel:  According to current zoning, the height limitations are three stories and 50 feet.  The hotel is proposed at four stories and 48 feet with the exception of the 52 foot “tower” – the portion of the hotel where the name will be displayed.  The Planning Commission will have to grant an exemption for the height of the building, however, our walk around suggested that most neighbors do not currently have a view of the freeway and will not be able to see the hotel.  There will be exceptions to that, but the impact here is limited.

Pond-Hyatt-7

Trees effectively block any view of the hotel even from a two-story building to the south west
Trees effectively block any view of the hotel even from a two-story building to the south west
This is the one gap that the developers plan to close with more trees
This is the one gap that the developers plan to close with more trees

Adjacency to the immediate neighbors. The hotel plans, even with their recent adjustments to the plans, still locate the hotel only feet away from the backyards of residence.  This is true.  This will be a hotel that is located close to the backyards of residents.  However, there is a greenbelt and trees that provides separation.

Pond-Hyatt-11 Pond-Hyatt-9 Pond-Hyatt-13 Pond-Hyatt-14 Pond-Hyatt-15

Transient nature of the business.  If the city followed current zoning, the businesses that could move there may well be just as transient.  One needs to look only around town to see store fronts vacant and offices that are unoccupied.  There is no way to protect against that for any commercial structure.  That said, there is a legitimate concern here that safety issues and other concerns will only be handled as well as the business is run.  A well maintained and well run hotel with responsive staff is probably not going to be a problem for the neighbors.  A poorly run hotel, with deteriorating conditions could be.  There is a legitimate concern that this could be a problem down the line, just as there is a legitimate concern that a deteriorating and poorly run New Harmony could be a problem down the line.  But that is probably a distant concern rather than an immediate one.

Lack of restaurants and services for guests.  Partially true.  One would have to drive 1.7 miles along Cowell and Chiles Road to reach McDonald’s, and further up the road is Nugget Market, Taco Bell, Subway and Cindy’s.  In the other direction, Safeway, Dos Coyotes and Round Table are about half a mile.  This is certainly not close proximity but probably not fatal to the hotel.

No easy freeway access to this location.  Likewise, this is accurate.  It is not an easy on or off the freeway.  It is probably a between 1 miles and 2 miles to the freeway access to the east and west.

Pond-Hyatt-5 Pond-Hyatt-2 Pond-Hyatt-4 Pond-Hyatt-3

Tree issues.  The petitioners cited the suggestion by the tree study to remove up to 35% of the foliage.  The developer has no plans to do that and will in fact be planting trees to restore some of the gaps in the tree line along the greenbelt.  Michael Bisch told the Vanguard plainly, “No greenbelt trees will be removed, period.”

From the Vanguard’s tour, it seems that a lot of the neighbors’ concerns are mitigated by existing trees that will block some of the impact of the hotel.  While there are some legitimate concerns, for the most part it appears that most of the neighbors would never know that there was a hotel on the other side of Albany along the freeway, and some will be benefited overall from the presence of the hotel.

—David M. Greenwald reporting

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  • David Greenwald

    Greenwald is the founder, editor, and executive director of the Davis Vanguard. He founded the Vanguard in 2006. David Greenwald moved to Davis in 1996 to attend Graduate School at UC Davis in Political Science. He lives in South Davis with his wife Cecilia Escamilla Greenwald and three children.

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267 comments

    1. Interesting. I would be more concerned about having the hotel patio that will have alcohol service 20 feet from the Greenbelt. has the City of Davis allowed that at any other place along the greenbelt?

        1. I can think of two off the top of my head, but no others come to mind.

          — Jack’s Urban Eats for the City’s greenbelt

          — Osteria Fasulo for the Village Homes greenbelt

        2. Imagine a bike ride around the Davis Loop and being able to stop and get a beer periodically without having to leave the trail and ride to a store or restaurant?

           

        3. Are you serious?  What, back to a temperance movement?

          Come on Grok, you can do better than this.  Your are really starting to appear unhinged, polarized, desperate and NIMBY.

          Give us something real to discuss and debate, not this type of junk.

          Davis needs commercial space and rental housing.   Maybe you should be making the case for why this lot should be converted to zoning for apartments.

          But wait… then there would still be alcohol and cigarettes within 20 ft of a greenbelt!

        4. Matt, your examples do not hold up.

          Jacks patio seating is in the parking lot of the Marketplace shopping center.

          Osteria Fasulo has a significant buffer between it and the Village Holmes greenbelt. Further, if I understand correctly the Village Holmes Green Belt is owned by the Village Holmes neighborhood association, not the city.

           

        5. I am not universally opposed to a restaurant that serves alcohol on the green belt, but for a matter of process we need to recognize that this is a place the city has not gone before and take it into consideration. That has not been done in this staff report.

        6. Grok: “but for a matter of process we need to recognize that this is a place the city has not gone before and take it into consideration.”

          It is not being taken into consideration because it is a complete non-issue. Just another of your many attempts to ‘throw mud’ at the project and the developers while hiding in anonymity.

        7. And, none is proposed… the parking/firelane/access is ~ 40 feet wide, according to the exhibits.  I call BS.

          Based on ‘facts’… parking stalls are ~ 20 feet deep… fire lanes need to be 20 feet clear.

        8. It is not being taken into consideration because it is a complete non-issue. Just another of your many attempts to ‘throw mud’ at the project and the developers while hiding in anonymity.

          If it is such a non-issue then it should be easy to address, but it has not been. The staff went to the trouble of acquiring opinions from the Davis Chief of Police, but this was not among the questions asked.

          Any anonymity on here is pretty thin. I will post under my own name when everyone is required to post under their own names. Even the author of this article posts under multiple aliases.

        9. “Osteria has a significant buffer between it and the…greenbelt.”

          As someone who worked at Osteria many moons ago, your description of the back patio and garden at Osteria is completely inaccurate, Grok. Both back onto the greenbelt, with maybe fifteen feet of separation from the greenbelt path. I realize that the NIMBY’s won against Measure A by stretching the truth, but this is too much.

        10. Grok, you are confusing the pool and its seating area with the bar and its seating area.  Based on the 05B-91 graphic you referenced from the Staff Report, the bar and its seating area are approximately 60 feet to the northwest of the pool and its seating area.  Alcohol service will have, just as hpierce said, one row of parking spaces plus the fire lane (the graphic has a label that shows that combined width to be 42 feet) PLUS approximately another 42 feet of kitchen and dining area inside the hotel building until you get to the bar and its service and seating area.

          Given your more specific wording of your question, I’ll take the liquor license footprint of Jack’s off table as an example.  The buffer you refer to for Osteria Fasulo is actually their outdoor seating area, so it actually abuts the Village Homes greenbelt . . . but here too with your more specific wording of your question, I’ll take Osteria Fasulo off the table as well.

        11. I walked by Osteria within the last week, that’s what I am basing my description on. It appears it is about 60 feet to the bike path. I do seem to remember it having less of a vegetation screen when it was the Plumbshire, but the patio was also much smaller, so it was set further back from the path.

          You failed to address that the Village Holmes green belt being owned by the neighborhood association not the City.

        12. Thanks Matt,

          I appreciate your candor.

          In regards to the restaurant vs. the pool seating area, I recognize the difference, however, my experience as a guest in this type of hotel is that generally speaking the bar/restaurants generally deliver to the pool area, or at the very least one can take your food and beverage to anywhere at the hotel and and outdoor lounge area by the pool is a popular place to take it.

          Again, I am not advocating to prohibit this at this at this time, I am advocating that there should be consideration to the fact that Alcohol will likely be served  20 feet from the City of Davis Green belt and that consideration is not in the staff report.

        13. “my experience as a guest in this type of hotel is that generally speaking the bar/restaurants generally deliver to the pool area, or at the very least one can take your food and beverage to anywhere at the hotel and and outdoor lounge area by the pool is a popular place to take it.”

          Where within the establishment liquor may be served is subject to the liquor license and generally not city ordinances. The ABC makes this determination after consultation with the local police. There will be public noticing of the neighbors and a comment period as required in advance of issuing the license, providing you or anyone else the opportunity to present their legitimate concerns.  I suspect that your concern today is actually bogus, but in the event that it is legit, it is for the most part, premature.

        14. I’ve been to many bars where the alcohol can’t leave the bar area or where alcohol isn’t allowed n the pool area.  Do we even know what Hyatt is proposing? Are neighbors not allowed to drink in their backyards which are also close (closer) to the greenbelt.  Much ado about nothing.

        15. Do we even know what Hyatt is proposing? – BarackP

          I don’t think we do know for sure. I am admittedly making assumptions based on other hotels, so that could certainly be better flushed out in the proposal so it can be addressed by the planning commission. I would think a follow up with the Chief of Police would be warranted.

        16. Its disappointing to see someone like Mark West on here who is so in favor of approving this Hotel that they can’t seem to even consider that there should be considerations for further mitigating the impact on the neighborhood.

        17. Grok: “Its disappointing to see someone like Mark West on here who is so in favor of approving this Hotel that they can’t seem to even consider that there should be considerations for further mitigating the impact on the neighborhood.”

          I have said all along that the neighbor’s legitimate concerns should be addressed by the applicant through the engagement process. If those concerns can be mitigated, they should be, which is exactly what has happened. All we have today is a long list of ‘so-called’ concerns being thrown out by an anonymous ‘non-neighbor,’ apparently representing those who refused to take part in the engagement process with the City and the applicants. This is the same anonymous ‘non-neighbor’ who has felt justified in making personal attacks against named individuals who disagree with him. I am happy to provide him with another target at which to throw his mud as he clearly has very poor aim.

        18. I have said all along that the neighbor’s legitimate concerns should be addressed by the applicant through the engagement process. If those concerns can be mitigated, they should be, which is exactly what has happened.

          The neighbors clearly don’t agree that their legitimate concerns have been addressed or mitigated because their petition is still up and gathering more signatures.

          All we have today is a long list of ‘so-called’ concerns

          My concerns have been pretty circumscribed and have specifically and extensively referenced the staff report.

          It is interesting that you bring up the so called attacks on the Pastor Hamicht, all I have ever done is reference his public postings on the Hyatt House development website, linkedin and the Davis Community Church website. The pastor has claimed to be a “community leader” on the vanguard but it is clear he has little or no experience in developing a hotel.

          “those who refused to take part in the engagement process” 

          There are significant questions about how well the engagement process was run.

          I am happy to provide him with another target at which to throw his mud as he clearly has very poor aim.

          How about suggesting some positive potential additional mitigations to address the neighbors concerns? That is what I have put forward.

        19. So, you’re saying that the pastor isn’t a community leader? It seems to me that he has done quite a bit for this city. And he’s certainly been recognized for it with awards like the Jay Gerber Young COMMUNITY LEADER Award from the Rotary.  So, at least some people in Davis view him as a “community leader.” If he doesn’t fit the designation in your view, I’d love to hear your definition of the term.
          Your innuendo has done damage to you, not him in my estimation.
          As Mark West has previously stated, it doesn’t matter if he has experience in development.

        20. So Frankly, after drinking your wine does the close proximity of the greenbelt make you want to get crazy and frolick through the trees like a crazy man?  Let’s hope that our city council can just dismiss these spurious made up problems and get on to passing this project.

        21. OK DR, all I said is the Pastor calls himself a “community leader.” Why do you have a problem with that since you agree with him?

          Interesting to see  that you agree that Pastor Habicht is lacking in experience in developing a hotel, I really wasn’t sure just going on the public postings until the pro hotel at any cost to the neighborhood folks who seem to know him personally started saying he is has no experience in developing hotels. Ultimately though it is not up to you or I  to decide if the developers lack of experience in a project is a cause for concern, but the Planning Commission and the City Council might consider it.

          I am still waiting for your positive  potential additional mitigations to address the neighbors concerns.

        22. OK frankly – The place you highlighted is not on the restaurant’s patio, but is adjacent to the path owned by the Village Homes neighborhood association. I will drop by and say Hi.