The Veranda at Indian Springs 1522, 1510, 1506, 1502, 1504 Lincoln Ave, Calistoga CA 94515 APNs 011‐034‐003; ‐004; ‐005; ‐006; ‐021; ‐022; 028; ‐029 Project Narrative March, 5 2020 Project Name: The Veranda at Indian Springs Owners: MF Calistoga 1512 Lincoln Ave Calistoga, CA 94515 Architect: Charles Covell Architects 1407 Main Street, Suite 102 Saint Helena, CA 94574 Civil Engineers: BKF Engineers 200 Fourth Street Suite 300 Santa Rosa, CA 94501 Landscape Architect: The Garden Route Co. 151 Haskins Way, Suite E South San Francisco, CA 94080 Requests for approval: • Use permit for 96 hotel rooms • Design Review for project per CMC 17.41. Project Overview and General Plan: The proposed project is located on a portion of the former Calistoga Gliderport property between the Calistoga Train depot and Indian Springs. The site has street frontage on the east side of Lincoln Avenue, and north side of Fair Way Extension. Currently the majority of the lot is vacant, besides an art gallery, laundromat, small office building, and storage buildings. Per the City of Calistoga General Plan Land Use Element (LUE) 2015, the project site’s Land Use Designations are Downtown Commercial, and Community Commercial per Figure LU‐4. It is also subject to the Gliderport Character Area Overlay. Page 1 of 7 Per the descriptions in the General Plan’s LUE, the Gliderport Character Area Overlay (GCAO), and the Community Identity Element, the proposed infill project is encouraged. See excerpts below. The objectives from the GCAO (page LU‐24): “The Gliderport Character Area includes the former Gliderport properties and several smaller parcels located in the southwest portion of the character area. These properties are currently underutilized and are anticipated to be redeveloped in the future. Redevelopment presents an opportunity to add to the excitement and vitality of the downtown area and improve area access and circulation. It is expected that redevelopment efforts will result in a vibrant and synergistic mix of uses that complement current uses in the downtown area and serve as a catalyst for future redevelopment and improvement of other properties in the city.” The Land Use Considerations from GCAO: • Land uses to be considered in the redevelopment of properties in this area should include retail/commercial uses, a signature full‐service resort and spa, residential uses and community and visitor serving uses. The Development and Design Considerations from GCAO: • Building and landscape design should be of the highest quality, and should utilize high quality authentic materials appropriate for Calistoga. • Design concepts should be imaginative and complementary in nature consistent with Napa Valley architectural heritage while reflecting the small‐town character of Calistoga. Community Identity Element (pp CI 12‐13): Goal CI‐1 Maintain and enhance Calistoga’s small‐town character. • New development should be sensitive to surrounding architecture, landscaping, character and scale of existing buildings. • New development should use exterior materials that have traditionally been used in Calistoga. • New buildings shall have heights that avoid obtrusive breaks in the natural skyline. • New developments should provide accessible public and semi‐public areas, and efficient and inviting pedestrian and bicycle connections to existing Calistoga streets. • Neighborhood circulation patterns should encourage walking and cycling. • Commercial properties should be attractively landscaped. • Parking set alongside or behind buildings, rather than in front. • Incorporation of varied building massing and architectural treatment. • Limited front setbacks and direct street access. • Pedestrian – rather than automobile‐scaled design elements. • Avoiding “big box” retail and other similar types of commercial development that demand auto‐ oriented design characteristics. Goal CI‐1.2 Maintain and enhance the urban design quality of the downtown and other commercial are: • Design amenities shall be encouraged in new downtown developments, including: • Buildings without front or side setbacks. Page 2 of 7 • Porches and/or overhangs, including covered sidewalks where appropriate. • Large store windows on ground floors. • Building rhythm matching the character of existing buildings. • New commercial buildings in the Downtown Commercial area shall abut the street, with parking areas located behind the buildings, and a minimum number of curb cuts on Lincoln Avenue. • The amount of greenery, especially street trees, in the Downtown Commercial area shall be maintained and enhanced to help create a pleasant walking environment for pedestrians, and also for visual continuity. • New development in the Downtown Commercial area shall encourage a continuous wall of buildings with small breaks rather than large breaks, such as parking lots, between buildings. Project Description: The proposed infill project consists of a 96‐room expansion to the Resort at Indian Springs, a restaurant, bars, retail, courtyard, event lawn, two pools with a pool‐side snack shack, utility buildings, and parking. The proposed off‐site improvements include an Emergency Access Road connection, and a Public Plaza that can serve as a Vine Trail downtown landing spot (please see A1.00 for Overall Site Plan). 1. Hotel Resort and Courtyard: The 96‐key 2‐story hotel building is roughly a U‐shape plan, creating a garden courtyard facing down valley. The first floor (Sheet A2.00) is comprised of a lounge, meeting spaces, a restaurant, retail, bar, breezeway, mercantile, back of house, administrative offices, and gym. The second‐floor guestrooms plus the garden suites at ground level total 96 keys. The building is set back from Lincoln Avenue 30 feet from the property line, not including the new Vine Trail 10‐foot multi‐use path. This setback creates the veranda, a tree‐ lined allée with outdoor seating, water features, and public benches for both locals and visitors to enjoy the amenities on the ground floor. An inviting breezeway is open to the exterior along Lincoln Avenue, and leads people into the garden courtyard. The restaurant and bar will complement one another, and cross‐utilize staff. The restaurant will seat 90 and be open for both lunch and dinner, while the bar will have seating for 45 and be open until 10PM during the week, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. There will also be a pool side snack shack open during pool hours. The hotel will feature a mix of meeting spaces with an adjoining event lawn that will be able to host groups from 10 to 200 people. The mercantile space will be a marketplace that includes wine, confections, artisanal snacks, and have grab‐and‐go prepackaged food options. The stores will be run by Indian Springs and will offer housewares, clothing, and spa products. Store hours will vary depending on the season, with typical hours of operation from 10AM‐7PM. A rooftop lounge with seating for 90 will sit atop the south‐west corner of the building, and will offer light snacks and drink service. While anticipated to be primarily used by guests of the hotel, it will also be open to the public. The rooftop will be primarily utilized during the summer, with operating hours of 3PM‐9PM during the week and 3PM‐10PM during the weekend. The rooftop will be closed when it is raining, and have limited hours during the winter. As an expansion, the project will utilize Indian Springs’ existing facilities and staff. Guest of The Veranda at Indian Springs will check in at Indian Springs’ front desk and be able to utilize Page 3 of 7 Indian Springs’ spa, pools and grounds. Because of this, The Veranda at Indian Springs will not have a front desk nor spa facilities. Staffing for Veranda’s management, housekeeping, maintenance and gardening departments will be provided through the existing staff at Indian Springs, significantly reducing the requirement for additional employees. Vehicular traffic for The Veranda at Indian Springs will enter the Indian Springs’ main driveway for check in, and will utilize one of Indian Springs’ four existing driveways as they come and go from the property. 2. Pool‐side building and Pools: There will be two single‐story pool‐side buildings comprised of a snack shack, restrooms, towels station, back of house, and storage. The terrace will be comprised of 2 pools, 1 for kids and 1 for adults, hot tubs, a kids’ play area, and will have outdoor seating, firepits, and beautiful landscaping. The terrace will be enclosed with a wooden fence, see detail 5/LD1.1 for fence details. Geothermal Geothermal water will be used, through a closed loop heat exchange system, to heat the project’s main pool. Water will be pumped from the site’s existing hot water well (as located on the civil plans), piped to the pool’s mechanical room, run through a closed heat exchange plate system, and then reinjected into a new well location. The existing hot water well location will be accessed via an in‐ground utility box, and shall be piped to the pool mechanical room via an under‐slab pipe. All pumps and heat exchange plates are to be located within the project’s “pool mechanical room”. As a closed loop system, all extracted geothermal water will be reinjected into the ground, drawing only heat from the water source. The potential location for the reinjection well will be located adjacent to the project’s pool mechanical room, though the exact location cannot be determined until further exploration is conducted. 3. Parking: Refer to sheet A1.00 Site Plan. A Parking Summary is shown on the plan, with a detailed breakdown of the 233 parking spaces (208 spaces required by zoning code), as well as the 24 bicycle parking spaces. The existing parking along the south side of the existing Indian Springs Lodge is for Lodge parking only, designated as such, and not included in the count. With 233 parking spaces, the expansion will have ample parking. Guests will be encouraged to leave their cars during their stay as they will be in the heart of town.