Marriott hotels not welcome in Kelowna until ‘sea of parking’ problem solved

KELOWNA – City staff are saying no to a proposal to build a pair of six-storey Marriott hotels on the corner of Highway 33 and Highway 97 because it would require a “sea of parking.”

City staff have no issues with the buildings themselves but say the inclusion of 203 parking stalls fronting one of the busiest intersections in Kelowna would be unattractive.

A report prepared by planner Ryan Roycroft says the current proposal “would continue to repeat the auto-centric layouts that have characterized Kelowna’s highway corridor for so long.”

“If the hotel chain is unwilling to consider an alternative configuration, the proposed parcel may not be suitable for their intended use,” he writes. “It is the opinion of Community Planning staff that the parking forward design proposed by the applicant does not achieve these goals, and is not suitable for such a prominent location.”

According to the report, the applicant says the national hotel chain is unwilling to make any changes to the layout. 

The property is currently occupied by a small single-storey motel accessed from Highway 97, Highway 33, and through an adjacent property from Mayden Road.

“City staff have worked with interested developers for a number of years on potential site designs, and have consistently requested that any proposed development have some highway aspect, and not have extensive parking off of both highway frontages,” Roycroft says.

Council will take a look at the report at its regular meeting on Monday, June 13.

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