EDITOR: I’ve been pleased with the quality of reporting under the Tribune’s new leadership and current staff. But I was disappointed that the Tribune did not report on the Council’s April 1 discussion and vote on limiting hotel development.
Hotels constructed during 2018 increased the number of rooms in Healdsburg by 45%. When all currently approved new projects are completed, it will represent an increase of about 100%. It is not anti-hotel or anti-tourism to suggest that the time has come to rein in this unprecedented boom. Taking a pause can only benefit the industry, and moreover, it is what the majority of our residents want. In a statistically valid, professional survey conducted by the city last year, 47% of residents stated that Healdsburg had too many hotels already, and 71% stated that hotel development in Healdsburg was happening too rapidly.
The simplest way to forestall more new hotels for the present is to amend the Mixed Use zone so they are not granted by right on these larger plots outside the downtown district. That is what I and Councilmember Shaun McCaffery argued for. But we could not win the support of the other three members.
I understand that motions that pass make news, not motions that fail. But I think that Healdsburg residents should be aware of how their representatives voted on this issue. (Gold put forward a motion to exclude hotels as approved use in a mixed use zone, which failed 2-3, McCaffery was the other councilmember in favor.)
Leah Gold
