Sounds like a great hotel to facilitate more visitors to spend more money..., but, is that what we want? We live here because it is a beautiful place to live. Many of us came from larger, more densely populated areas. Yet, here we go making it more like the places we escaped from. When noise, pollution, traffic and rents increase, where will we go next? Where is the next place we will ruin? It seems, to me at least, that the human race allows greed to rule and common sense to disappear.
Lowest initial cost or building sophistication for the future: The Barlow owns the land beneath their property and could put parking in multi levels instead of horizontal on the surface. Even cut-and-cover with a park above. Why always the cheap and easy?
The surface area used for parking would be lost as a future location for business that could bring revenue to Sebastopol. The city would be subsidizing The Barlow by that lost revenue.
The same idea applies to the city owned land used for parking by Hopmonk. Put parking beneath revenue generation or park beautification.
Another thought, it takes money to make money, so the saying goes, and like poor people with fewer choices, our poverty stricken village (that sort of wants to be a town) aims at cheapest initial cost seemingly on all choices. Is long term thinking an unaffordable luxury? Think BIGGER.
In my humble opinion this is too big and it's really ugly architecture. It's already almost impossible to park at the Community Market and the Barlow in general. All the pretty words about how this will benefit the community of Sebastopol are masking Aldridge's true motive... MONEY. He is only interested in wealth. Yes he has the disease. This will benefit him personally, not Sebastopol. It will only create more inconvenience, more traffic, more noise and more heat due to the increase in emissions. PLEASE NO!
Not that it's a question for The Barlow to answer, but what does this mean for the hotel proposed for the eastern side of the town square? And, do I recall correctly that the owners and proposed developers of this hotel already have $1,000,000+ invested in the venture?
And who besides me remembers the 2019 flood which, if it didn't reach the Guayaki Yerba Mate building, came damn close? And it certainly submerged the proposed Morris St. parking lot.
I think the comment is about underground parking. In any event, the additional time and costs this would add to the project would make it less economically viable.
The proposed hotel was just given a three year extension to start the project. It appears they can’t get financing. The new Barlow proposal has them breaking ground in 2025. Unrealistic time frame in my opinion.
Is this hotel in addition to the Sebastopol hotel that has already been approved? (Across from the ice cream store. ) If so, I don’t know that we need two hotels in the same general area.
The Barlow mentioned the Hotel Sebastopol situation as something they are trying to avoid, implying that it isn't going great. They want to convince the city they can do things better than that is what I gathered.
Private bar? $2,000,000 in tax revenue sounds useful but where’s the other side of the equation? How much will it cost the city to provide services? Fire, police etc. city council says our sewage system needs revamping. How will this further degrade a failing sewer system? How will this impact water usage issues?
A “reimagined” overflow parking lot? The increase in traffic and parking issues are not imaginary.
Hi Chandra, I grilled them on the parking, and heard mixed responses on it, but it seems like The Barlow's plan is to give everyone staying at the hotel valet parking in the lot on Morris Street and then have part time parking around the hotel like what is currently there. It didn't seem like they really had that figured out though, and would definitely be a problem without a serious valet situation. The city and The Barlow would still have the same amount of parking to the west of Morris Street, and that spot on Morris Street will also have spots for employees and other visitors. There are 83 rooms at the hotel, so it would be a good amount of people, and then also more people coming to events. So long as it does attract tourists and The Barlow can pull its weight financially, those tourists will be coming pocketbooks in hand ready to increase revenue at many restaurants and shops around town, with surely a net positive for the city and for jobs. Right now there is an empty building with nothing going on. There's not really demand, as far as I can tell, for more restaurants or shops in town, but there are for places to stay.
Thank for the information. It’s already difficult, at times, to park for Community Market and this will exacerbate the problem.
In addition, yes tourists will come with “pocketbooks in hand” providing more jobs. However, they will be relatively low paying jobs and workers, assuming they can find a place to live here, won’t be able to afford housing. We’ll continue down the road becoming a commuter town much like SF.
I am not anti growth but I just do not see how this helps to solve any problems for those of us who live here. I do it creating more problems then it purports to solve.
Finally, this will make much delayed hotel already approved financially unviable. Two competing hotels so close together will be a disaster.
One thing they mentioned as a consideration is that Sebastopol has a lot of tourists come into town on day trips. They get lunch but perhaps skip out on the dinner. This would keep people in Sebastopol longer rather than having people driving in and out of the city. In that sense it would actually lower some traffic because you have people who would spend the whole day walking around town rather than driving in from Santa Rosa, etc. That money for the hotel would also be going to Sebastopol instead of another city or the county.
I don't know what would happen to the Hotel Sebastopol project if this was to go through. There was a lot of enthusiasm for the project from the building department at the meeting, so we'll see what happens.
Another Aldridge quote... "“Overall we are doing this to benefit the entire town,” he said. “The people of Sebastopol have never had a nice hotel to welcome visitors. This will attract people in a very unique and elegant way.”
Yes? Really? Please tell me how "welcoming visitors in a unique age elegant way" is a benefit to me and my community.
Oh... I get it now.!
You've made so much money on exorbitant rents in the Barlow, that you need a project to invest in!
Also, you see the financial woes of the city as an opportunity for you.
I actually love the Barlow, but it's ENOUGH. Don't you get the concept?
“We care very much about whatever negative impacts the construction would have since it would be affecting our businesses,” said Aldridge.
Oh really?!?
I personally know many of the business owners in the Barlow and I could give many examples of their experiences that show this statement to be extremely disingenuous.
Sounds like a great hotel to facilitate more visitors to spend more money..., but, is that what we want? We live here because it is a beautiful place to live. Many of us came from larger, more densely populated areas. Yet, here we go making it more like the places we escaped from. When noise, pollution, traffic and rents increase, where will we go next? Where is the next place we will ruin? It seems, to me at least, that the human race allows greed to rule and common sense to disappear.
Lowest initial cost or building sophistication for the future: The Barlow owns the land beneath their property and could put parking in multi levels instead of horizontal on the surface. Even cut-and-cover with a park above. Why always the cheap and easy?
The surface area used for parking would be lost as a future location for business that could bring revenue to Sebastopol. The city would be subsidizing The Barlow by that lost revenue.
The same idea applies to the city owned land used for parking by Hopmonk. Put parking beneath revenue generation or park beautification.
Another thought, it takes money to make money, so the saying goes, and like poor people with fewer choices, our poverty stricken village (that sort of wants to be a town) aims at cheapest initial cost seemingly on all choices. Is long term thinking an unaffordable luxury? Think BIGGER.
In my humble opinion this is too big and it's really ugly architecture. It's already almost impossible to park at the Community Market and the Barlow in general. All the pretty words about how this will benefit the community of Sebastopol are masking Aldridge's true motive... MONEY. He is only interested in wealth. Yes he has the disease. This will benefit him personally, not Sebastopol. It will only create more inconvenience, more traffic, more noise and more heat due to the increase in emissions. PLEASE NO!
Not that it's a question for The Barlow to answer, but what does this mean for the hotel proposed for the eastern side of the town square? And, do I recall correctly that the owners and proposed developers of this hotel already have $1,000,000+ invested in the venture?
And who besides me remembers the 2019 flood which, if it didn't reach the Guayaki Yerba Mate building, came damn close? And it certainly submerged the proposed Morris St. parking lot.
The hotel is going to be lifted above ground to protect it against that.
I think the comment is about underground parking. In any event, the additional time and costs this would add to the project would make it less economically viable.
But Barney's probably got a new flood protection scheme - so we can rest easy.
I do enjoy sarcasm.
🤑😂🤣
The proposed hotel was just given a three year extension to start the project. It appears they can’t get financing. The new Barlow proposal has them breaking ground in 2025. Unrealistic time frame in my opinion.
Is this hotel in addition to the Sebastopol hotel that has already been approved? (Across from the ice cream store. ) If so, I don’t know that we need two hotels in the same general area.
The Barlow mentioned the Hotel Sebastopol situation as something they are trying to avoid, implying that it isn't going great. They want to convince the city they can do things better than that is what I gathered.
🤑🤑🤑
Yes, it is separate and in the same area.
Private bar? $2,000,000 in tax revenue sounds useful but where’s the other side of the equation? How much will it cost the city to provide services? Fire, police etc. city council says our sewage system needs revamping. How will this further degrade a failing sewer system? How will this impact water usage issues?
A “reimagined” overflow parking lot? The increase in traffic and parking issues are not imaginary.
So many unanswered questions.
Hi Chandra, I grilled them on the parking, and heard mixed responses on it, but it seems like The Barlow's plan is to give everyone staying at the hotel valet parking in the lot on Morris Street and then have part time parking around the hotel like what is currently there. It didn't seem like they really had that figured out though, and would definitely be a problem without a serious valet situation. The city and The Barlow would still have the same amount of parking to the west of Morris Street, and that spot on Morris Street will also have spots for employees and other visitors. There are 83 rooms at the hotel, so it would be a good amount of people, and then also more people coming to events. So long as it does attract tourists and The Barlow can pull its weight financially, those tourists will be coming pocketbooks in hand ready to increase revenue at many restaurants and shops around town, with surely a net positive for the city and for jobs. Right now there is an empty building with nothing going on. There's not really demand, as far as I can tell, for more restaurants or shops in town, but there are for places to stay.
Thank for the information. It’s already difficult, at times, to park for Community Market and this will exacerbate the problem.
In addition, yes tourists will come with “pocketbooks in hand” providing more jobs. However, they will be relatively low paying jobs and workers, assuming they can find a place to live here, won’t be able to afford housing. We’ll continue down the road becoming a commuter town much like SF.
I am not anti growth but I just do not see how this helps to solve any problems for those of us who live here. I do it creating more problems then it purports to solve.
Finally, this will make much delayed hotel already approved financially unviable. Two competing hotels so close together will be a disaster.
One thing they mentioned as a consideration is that Sebastopol has a lot of tourists come into town on day trips. They get lunch but perhaps skip out on the dinner. This would keep people in Sebastopol longer rather than having people driving in and out of the city. In that sense it would actually lower some traffic because you have people who would spend the whole day walking around town rather than driving in from Santa Rosa, etc. That money for the hotel would also be going to Sebastopol instead of another city or the county.
I don't know what would happen to the Hotel Sebastopol project if this was to go through. There was a lot of enthusiasm for the project from the building department at the meeting, so we'll see what happens.
Relying on tourism for revenue has many, many pitfalls. The impact on the social fabric of communities can be devastating.
Another Aldridge quote... "“Overall we are doing this to benefit the entire town,” he said. “The people of Sebastopol have never had a nice hotel to welcome visitors. This will attract people in a very unique and elegant way.”
Yes? Really? Please tell me how "welcoming visitors in a unique age elegant way" is a benefit to me and my community.
Oh... I get it now.!
You've made so much money on exorbitant rents in the Barlow, that you need a project to invest in!
Also, you see the financial woes of the city as an opportunity for you.
I actually love the Barlow, but it's ENOUGH. Don't you get the concept?
ENOUGH.
“We care very much about whatever negative impacts the construction would have since it would be affecting our businesses,” said Aldridge.
Oh really?!?
I personally know many of the business owners in the Barlow and I could give many examples of their experiences that show this statement to be extremely disingenuous.