Developer Integrity Group received approval from the city of Roanoke Zoning Board of Adjustments on Feb. 20 for two out of three requested variances for the design of the hotel.
The board approved requests from Integrity to increase the number of floors of the hotel from three to four and to decrease the landscaping buffer from 25 feet to 15 feet on the portion of the development adjacent to Hwy. 114.
“Staff doesn’t have any opposition to the variance request for an additional floor due to the location of the water tower directly next to it,” said J.R. Hames, planning manager for the city of Roanoke. “The water tower always seemed problematic ... and more recently council approved an ordinance that redefined hotel use to limited-use and full-service hotels.”
According to Hames, limited and full-service hotels are already permitted to build additional floors in the city’s retail service district. Hames noted that the proposed Staybridge Suites currently meets the majority of the city’s criteria.
The board also approved an adjustment to the development’s landscape buffer along Hwy. 114, due to a 25-foot Texas Department of Transportation buffer already in place at the Hwy. 114 and Lois intersection, Hames said.
A third variance request from Integrity to forego a 6-foot retaining wall on the north side of the development by constructing a 4-foot iron fence alternative was not approved.
“I definitely want the big wall,” Roanoke resident Billy Bowen said. “I’d rather have a big retaining wall that keeps it private from us.”
Hames noted that Integrity still has the option of presenting the alternative design with an iron fence to council at a later date.
