Zoning Board Grants Hotel Preliminary Approval

By the time the Howell Zoning Board of Adjustment met on Monday night all that was left on an application to build a hotel on Route 9 was closing arguments by the attorneys before the members voted.

Monday marked the 10th meeting on the application which started back in January seeking use and bulk variances and a preliminary site plan approval to build at 4-story, 109 room hotel. The plan also calls for a 200 seat restaurant and a 400 seat conference and banquet facility at the intersection with Northwoods Place. When the arguments were made and the votes were cast the board approved the application by a 6-1 margin with Chairman Steve Meyer recusing himself from the vote.

Representing objectors to the plan attorney Ron Gasiorowski wrapped his case in front of the board first. In his closing arguments Gasiorowski cited case law and zoning changes in the township as reasons for the board to deny the application among other reasons. He pointed to an ordinance passed in 2009 that no longer allowed hotels as a conditional use in the zone. “That is really reflective of a clear and manifest intention of your governing body,” he said.

Several years have passed since the zoning change was made and Gasiorowski said there are other uses the board could approve for the location including offices, financial and medical businesses as well as hospitals and restaurants. He pointed to the fact that the property is bordered by Interstate 195 on one side and residential communities on the other side as factors that make the location worthy of special consideration as well as wetlands in the area.

Whether the board members wanted the hotel in town, Gasiorowski said, was not a major factor the board should consider. “That is irrelevant,” he said. “Your personal views of what you want there has to be tempered by what the governing body has legislatively created. What they have created is a legislative zone that says no hotels.”

The attorney for the applicant said he believed his client had shown not only a need for the hotel but also that it would be beneficial for the township as a whole despite the objections of some residents in the area. He pointed to an earlier application for a hotel at the location which was turned down and changes made for the current version which he believed made it a better fit.

In the end the final decision came down to the board with Secretary Michael Sanclimenti the first member to speak after the cases were closed. “What we have to do is look at really what the zone says and the positive and negative criteria,” he said. “There is positive criteria, there is negative criteria. We have to consider what the impact to the public is for not only residents there but for the whole town.”

Robert Smith, one of the newest members of the board who serves as the second alternate and did not get a vote was the first member to express an objection to the application. “Based on what I’ve heard I’m not personally convinced that the marketing studies show without a doubt that there is a need for a hotel,” he said. “What happens three to five years from now if the business fails. That’s a major hole there.”

The motion to approve the application was introduced by Thomas Posch who said he believed the applicant had made a “strong case,” for the application and did not believe approval would hurt the environment.

Nino Borrelli said since his family moved to Howell in 2005 he has seen the issue of a hotel as a hotly debated one in the township. Borrelli said he believed the application “would fit well inot Howell’s suburban character on Route 9,” and that he was agreeable to the variance for the building’s height as well as buffers between the wetlands and the neighboring houses.

One of the biggest questions with the application in addition to the traffic and impact on local residents was the fact that there is not yet a brand associated with the hotel application. Borrelli said he believed the applicant’s assertions that there would be a high end, upscale hotel chain coming to town. “I think our town deserves no less than the best so don’t disappoint us please.”

The lone vote against the application came from Valeri Morone who said she did not believe the proposal showed enough of a beneficial use to warrant the proposed variances. With entrance and exit from Northwoods Place Morone called the design, “less than ideal.” She said the increased traffic could lead to more motor vehicle accidents in the area which would not benefit the overall good of the area.

After the meeting Morone added, “I like numbers and I didn’t feel that their market analyst provided a lot of data that I could follow to a conclusion regarding need. When we had that subjective opinion I was not convinced.”

She also said she was concerned about the impact on the people in the Northwoods development. “I think they have a right that that piece of property be developed within the current zoning regulations without deviation.”

The applicant, Len Solondz said after years of work he was glad to see the application get approval from the board and looked forward to moving ahead with the plans that were agreed upon. “It’s terrific. I think it’s a good thing for Howell. I think finally there’s going to be in town, we’re going to have very nice dining facilities and a banquet and conference center.” Solondz said he looked forward to seeing local organizations host events at the facility upon its completion.

As for the matter of having a named hotel Solondz said, “We’re in dialogue right now with several groups. I expect within the next 30 days we should have something a little better.”

Solondz said the property was owned by his father before he took over the title and the family has worked on three applications through the years. “What I was looking for and what I believe the township committee recommended to me was to keep it as a banquet facility with a restaurant and a hotel and that’s what I promised I would do with my application and that’s what I’ve done.