Holiday Inn Express OK'd to build above height restrictions

A new hotel in Buckeye will be allowed to build above previously established height restrictions after the Town Council narrowly passed the measure on Tuesday.

The hotel had become a source of controversy for some in the Sundance development, where the hotel will be built. The Sundance Community Master Plan established a height restriction of 36 feet, but developers for the Holiday Inn Express wanted an extra nine feet to include a fourth story.

Some residents of Sundance, including members of the Senior Action Group, had previously voiced their concerns that the extra height would block their views. During a development board meeting last month, concerned residents packed the meeting to lobby against any changes to the community's master plan. The group presented the board with a petition of around 100 residents against making any changes.

The board worked to strike a compromise with the developers and the residents, drafting an amendment to the plan that would allow only hotels and motels to build up to 45 feet, while all other development would remain capped at 36 feet.

The Town Council passed the amendment with a 4-3 vote. The hotel's developers showed the council a projection of what the hotel would look like and said the hotel would not actually block any views. Councilmen Robert Doster, Robert Garza and Dave Rioux voted against it.

No residents spoke out during the council meeting for or against the change.

The hotel is slated to be built in the Watson Marketplace commercial center on Watson Road just south of Interstate 10. No construction date for the hotel has been set.