Vacant for about 20 years, an empty lot in Solvang is being eyed by a developer with a different type of vacancy in mind.
During its Dec. 4 meeting, the Solvang Planning Commission reviewed a proposal to build a new nine-unit boutique hotel at the site of a former gas station, on a 16,309-square-foot plot along Mission Drive.
The gas station, which ceased operations approximately two decades ago, is completely gone, and all that’s left is a grassy parcel, which hasn’t been repurposed. Old Mission Santa Inés owns the site through the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, according to the staff report. It’s located less than half a mile from the Mission.
The proposed hotel includes a gathering hall shaped like a church steeple and one cottage suite that resembles a windmill, Solvang Planning Manager Rafael Castillo said during the Planning Commission’s review of the project’s development plan.
“The one thing to note is there is no on-site parking,” Castillo said. “Per the Solvang municipal code, the project does require 10 parking spaces.”
The city allows exceptions to the on-site parking rule if the project applicant can provide a feasible off-site parking arrangement within 500 feet of the proposed development, Castillo explained.
According to the staff report, the project applicant, Edward St. George, is behind several upcoming projects, each within 500 feet of the proposed hotel site that may have potential excess parking.
Staff recommended that the Planning Commission approve the hotel’s development plan with a caveat to ensure there’s a parking plan in place before any construction begins.
“The project has been conditioned to have a recorded document approved by the city attorney documenting available parking before a building permit is issued,” Castillo said. “If there’s no documented excess parking spaces available … the applicant will be required to pay in lieu parking fees.”
According to Solvang’s current fee schedule, an in lieu parking fee is $12,376. While the project site has been undeveloped since the early 2000s, Castillo said that a two-story commercial building was planned for the property and approved in 2007, but the concept was abandoned before the construction stage.
With staff’s recommendation and the Design Review Committee’s support, the Planning Commission ultimately agreed to approve the boutique hotel’s development plan with a 3-0 vote (Planning Commissioner Joannie Jamieson was absent and Planning Commissioner Aaron Petersen recused himself from voting “for numerous reasons,” including a conflict of interest).
This article appears in Dec 7-17, 2023.
