Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect the city council's 7-0 decision to block plans for the proposed Marriott TownPlace Suites in North Richland Hills.
It was a long and crowded night in the council chambers in North Richland Hills Monday.
Seven council members voted unanimously to deny plans for a hotly debated hotel which parents have fought to keep away from Walker Creek Elementary School.
The currently undeveloped lot within the Hometown mixed-use development had been rezoned to allow a TownPlace Suites by Marriot.
“The gut reaction as a parent is stranger danger, you know closer to the school. And right there, what kind of people are going to be in and out, and how is the school and hotel going to monitor that?” asked Aimee Ybanez.
Ybanez and her husband have daughters in the first and third grade at Walker Creek Elementary. They moved into the neighborhood over the summer and were shocked to see when they learned about plans for a hotel.
“Predators come all walks of life and to be able to have that easy access to kids right across from the playground. You know, so kids are right outside and the hotel would be literally right across from that fence,” said Ybanez.
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Developer Sanjiv Melwani was familiar with the concerns ahead of Monday’s council meeting and urged that parents have nothing to fear.
“First of all, it’s a Marriot Townplace Suites, so the kind of people who will be staying there are the kind of people who can really afford to stay in a Marriot Townplace Suites. So the price will be an automatic deterrent from the kind of behavior they’re alluding to. Second of all, we’re very particular about our operating procedures as well,” said Melwani.
In addition to the cashless system and security cameras Melwani intends to implement, the city’s Development Review Committee sent him a list of recommendations.
Those include that no hotel room windows face the school. The entrance to the hotel will also face away. In addition, it was recommended the hotel install a continuous landscape strip of screening along the back of the building.
“We want to be good neighbors. We want to fit into the community. We’re entrenched in the area already, so we definitely want to do right by the community, and they just have to have faith that we’re trying to do what’s best for them as well. It’ll bring up the area,” said Melwani.
Still those with yard signs proclaiming “No hotel in Hometown” are still fighting for a “no” vote from council.
“I think people aren’t opposed to a hotel in North Richland Hills. They’re opposed to a hotel in a neighborhood across from an elementary school. There’s tons of freeway space. There’s Highway 26 right there which makes sense for a hotel. But inside the neighborhood where you’ve got the library and the rec center and the elementary school, these are things that residents can use and these are things that benefit us as a community. A hotel doesn’t benefit us as a community,” said Ybanez.
