4-Story Healdsburg Hotel Approved By Planning Commission

HEALDSBURG, CA — A four-story hotel at 400 Healdsburg Avenue was approved Tuesday by the Healdsburg Commission on a 4- 2 vote.

The Healdsburg Residences Hotel — or HH Residence Hotel — is a 16-unit boutique hotel with 2,165 square feet of retail space and a 1,779-square-foot restaurant/ lobby lounge on the first level. The upper levels are comprised of two- and three-bedroom suites, with a pool on the second level.

Access will be provided to the off-street parking area by a one-way, 12-foot aisle accessed from Healdsburg Avenue. There will be 34 off-street, valet-only parking spaces and two white-curb —passenger loading zone—parallel parking spaces along Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg City Manager Jeff Kay said Friday in an update. The applicant proposes to use a SilMan automated car lift parking system to meet its onsite parking requirement.

The 0.32-acre project site is comprised of three existing parcels at the northeast corner of Healdsburg Avenue and North Street. The site is bounded by Healdsburg Avenue to the west, a parking lot to the north, and a tasting room, parking area and a portion of the Mitchell Center to the east. The three parcels are currently developed with a private parking lot and two, one and two-story commercial buildings located north of the parking lot. All existing onsite structures are proposed to be demolished to allow for the new four-story, 16-unit hotel.

According to city staff, careful attention was given to the front corner on Healdsburg Avenue and North Street to activate the corner with a pedestrian-friendly aesthetic and active use of a lobby area with a small restaurant and lounge. The project will enhance the pedestrian experience with the use of floor-to-ceiling glazed windows along the first floor in the retail and restaurant spaces, along with movable windows and doors to open the space at the corner, city staff wrote in a report. Recessed entry areas with landscaping will further enhance the pedestrian experience.

The applicants have three existing hotels in Healdsburg and came before the planning commission three times before receiving approval.

Anyone who does not agree with the commission’s decision may appeal the decision to the City Council provided that a written appeal is filed within 10 calendar days from the date of the commission’s action.