Thursday, February 25, 1999
Florence says 'no' to new hotel
BY KRISTINA GOETZ
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FLORENCE — City council members said Wednesday a proposed hotel on Woodspoint Drive would cause more traffic problems than it's worth.
Members voted 4-2 against the proposed three-story, 100-room Microtel Hotel Tuesday night, although the Boone County Planning Commission had unanimously recommended it to council.
“There is too much traffic in that area,” said Councilman David Osborne. “I also feel the project is too cramped on the lot.”
Owner John Bill Keck and Raymond Erpenbeck Consulting Engineers wanted to develop 1.6 acres at 7490
Woodspoint Drive into a hotel that would accommodate mostly tourists and business travelers. It would also have had a parking lot for up to 105 cars.
The space would have been divided equally among single and double occupancy rooms and suites. It would not have been designed for long-stay residents.
The Dragon Inn Restaurant was formerly on the property.
All four dissenting council members cited traffic concerns at the intersection of Woodspoint Drive and Ky. 18 as the reasons they voted against the hotel.
Engineers had agreed to, at minimum, include ornamental directional signs located at the hotel exits to deter motorists from turning left onto Burling ton Pike from Woodspoint Drive, but council members said they didn't think the signs were enough.
Ray Erpenbeck, president of Raymond Erpenbeck Consulting Engineers, said he knew there was opposition on council before members voted, but thought his firm could persuade them to see the benefits of the hotel.
“We think it was a use that would have generated the least amount of traffic,” he said. “I think their big question was whether there was a need for another hotel in that area.”
The developers had agreed to several other conditions, including changing the look of the hotel to at least 60 percent brick to match the feel of surrounding buildings and working with the city to provide additional trees in the banked area adjacent to where the hotel parking lot would have been.
The developers can appeal the city's decision to Boone Circuit Court or revise their proposal and ask for reconsideration.
Mr. Erpenbeck said he hasn't been in contact with Mr. Keck since the vote.
“We've not had any discussion with the owner about what we're going to do next,” he said.
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