Foster City Planning Commission OKs hotel proposal

“Keeping this empty or vacant for so many years was never a good thing. If you try to narrow down on all the uses this site can actually be used for, I think a hotel would be top of my mind for the site, especially at a very important intersection in the city, close to Visa and Gilead,” Jagtiani said.

The developer, MPQ Foster City Metro Center LLC, also owns the project site and purchased it from Visa in 2017 for $7 million. The limited-service hotel would be 83,187 square feet, with 151 guest rooms. The development is at a vacant lot site. The application for the use permit was Feb. 25, 2019. Surrounding developments include Costco Wholesale store to the northwest, a Visa office building to the southwest and townhomes to the southeast. A Metro retail center and another hotel to the northeast. The lot size is 1.36 acres.

The ground floor would have surface parking, utilities and an elevator lobby. There would be 151 rooms on five stories, while the top floor would have additional guest rooms, a restaurant and bar and a fitness studio. The site design includes three viewing decks, including a second-story terrace and seventh-floor deck, both facing southeast, and a seventh-story outdoor terrace lounge oriented northwest to Metro Center Boulevard. Parking includes 95 spaces, including five shared spaces.

The Planning Commission approved the project in three separate motions at its June 17 meeting. It approved the project’s environmental assessment, advanced a rezoning recommendation to the council to amend the Metro Center General Development Plan to allow the hotel and granted a use permit.

Commissioner Nicolas Haddad voted against the use permit motion over issues with the proposed entrance from Metro Centro Boulevard to the hotel. He cited the Costco exit nearby that could lead to increased activity. He also had concerns about the parking design and if 95 parking spaces could fit in the proposed site plan.

“I think a more accurate design or site plan needs to be completed if you want to make a decision here. But I have a big doubt if we can fit 95 parking spots in the area,” Haddad said.

Commissioner Charlie Bronitsky urged the City Council to consider if travelers would use the hotel following the pandemic, as Foster City is not a tourist destination.

“I would urge them in my comments to take another look at that,” he said.

Bronitsky was worried about parking, traffic overcrowding and water usage at the site, particularly during a drought.

“Adding a hotel for out-of-towners at the risk of having to ask our residents and businesses to start conserving water again is of grave concern to me,” Bronitsky said.

Vice Chair Evan Adams was in favor of the project. He was not concerned about the parking or water issues raised by other commissioners due to staff recommendations to move forward. He thought the applicant had addressed neighbor concerns, visual privacy and traffic issues.

“Hotels are the least impactful use on the site. I believe the idea was that the site would be a restaurant, and that would be much more impactful for traffic in the area,” Adams said.

Chair Rick Wykoff favored moving the project forward and noted staff did not have key concerns about planning and design.

“With the proposed revisions, the development presents a really cohesive appearance and continuity in form to the Town Center area,” Wykoff said.

The Planning Commission’s recommendation regarding the environmental assessment and rezoning will now be forwarded to the City Council for final action, with the use permit taking effect when rezoning action is approved.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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