ST. GEORGE — Approval for a three-story boutique hotel to be built on 200 West across from the St. George Catholic Church was tabled by the City Council on Thursday over concerns related to the proposed structure’s roof.
Specifically, council members expressed weariness about approving a roof that wasn’t setback like the hotel’s second and third floors would be.
“Overall I like the project,” Councilman Gregg McArthur said, adding that he worried about setting a precedent by allowing the current design of the hotel to pass. He also said the project looks “boxy.”
The design of the 12-room hotel — set to be built on 0.27 acres on the southeast corner of 200 North and 200 West — sports a public area and parking spaces on the first level of the building. The second and third floors above it are set back from the street and hang over the parking stalls.
Adding to the “boxy” opinion, McArthur mentioned the flat-top roof where a lounge area is proposed to be. Stacy Young, the project’s applicant, told the council that the flat roof is meant to keep the building’s overall height low.
“We’re trying to pay attention to overall scale,” Young said.
Young also said smaller, short-term lodgings used to be more prevalent in St. George before the larger hotels moved in.
The city’s Planning Commission previously approved the design of the project, called the STG Inn, in a 3-1 vote. The majority of the commission agreed with the conditions city staff placed on the project, with the exception of removing the roof overhang.
The location of the proposed hotel is also within the city’s designated “Connected Corridor.” It is a zone described in the city’s Downtown Area Plan as being a buffer of sorts between the livelier parts of downtown, like St. George Boulevard, and residential areas.
According to city planning documents, the “third and fourth stories of buildings should be set back from the street edge to soften their impact on the street character.” Documents from city staff further state, “With the roof line not being stepped back, it provides the effect of not being setback.”
City Manager John Willis said the city wanted to avoid “the sheer vertical walls” of regular buildings in order to make the change over from the heavily trafficked downtown to residential less abrupt.
Some residents who live in the area of the STG Inn project emailed comments to the Planning Commission and City Council asking them not to approve the building.
They outlined their concerns of the project not meeting the aesthetics of the neighborhood, not enough parking and another commercial property in an area they said should remain residential.
“We’ve got to make sure this fits,” Councilman Jimmie Hughes said.
Issues of parking and other concerns were also shared by members of the council. Overall, while a there appeared to be a general approval of the concept, the roof’s lack of set back, among other issues, kept the council from allowing the project to move forward, for now.
“I think we’re so close here, but it’s important to me to get that setback right,” McArthur said while proposing the council table voting on the project for two weeks, until its next regular meeting.
After the developer agreed to be back in two weeks with proposed changes, the council voted 4-0 to table the project. Councilwoman Michelle Tanner was not present at Thursday’s council meeting.
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