By Scott Shumaker | East Valley Tribune
Neighbors opposed to Mesa’s proposal to buy a hotel to house the city’s homeless recovery program are planning to wield a powerful weapon embedded in city code to scuttle the project.
The city wants to use the 70-room Grand Hotel at Main Street and Power Road as a shelter for its Off the Streets program but must obtain a Council Use Permit to allow social services on the property.
The permit is also a condition of the $7.4 million purchase agreement between the city and current owner Sunstay Bridge LLC.
The hearing for the permit is currently scheduled for October.
A provision of city code, Chapter 11-67-4: Review of Applications, provides a mechanism for neighboring property owners to impose a requirement for supermajority approval on an application.
If 20% or more of the property owners within 150 feet of the zoning area sign a written protest, the application needs yes votes from three-fourths of the council, rounded to the nearest whole number.
With all seven council members present, that would require a minimum 5-2 yes vote for approval.
Given the outcry against the hotel this summer, just holding all four “yes” votes from May may pose a challenge for backers of the hotel plan.
