(a) Purpose. The hotel overlay district addresses concerns unique to the impacts associated with lodging and related land use activities. The intent of this overlay district is to establish standards to guide the size, location, design, development and operational standards of future hotel development.
(b) Permitted uses. In addition to the uses permitted in the underlying zoning district, large and small hotels shall be permitted in the hotel overlay district provided that hotels meet the design and operational standards set forth in this subsection. Hotel uses are further limited to the following subdistricts as follows:
Hotel Overlay District A - Large and small hotels
Hotel Overlay District B - Small hotels only
(c) Designation of hotel district. The designation of properties as a hotel overlay district shall be treated as a zoning map amendment with the designation of these districts subject to the procedures and requirements set forth in Article VII of this chapter. The boundaries of each hotel district shall be identified on the Official Zoning Maps of the City of Asheville with copies of these maps maintained in the Planning and Urban Design Department.
(d) Scope of overlay districts and relationship to other regulations. The hotel overlay district standards are applied in conjunction with the underlying zoning district but may modify any portion of the standards of the underlying zoning district. The provisions of the hotel overlay district may apply additional requirements, or allow exceptions to general regulations. When there is conflict between the hotel overlay district and the standards established by the underlying zoning district or other regulations of this chapter, the hotel overlay district standards shall control, unless located in the Central Business District, Biltmore Village Historic District, or the River Arts Form Code District, in which case the development requirements of these districts shall control unless specifically indicated otherwise as in sections (g)(2)(a), (g)(3)(a) and (c) below.
(e) Adoption criteria. A Hotel Overlay District may be extended if all the following criteria are met:
(1) The future land use designation of the property proposed for the hotel district includes hotels as a suitable land use;
(2) Property is directly adjacent and contiguous to other Hotel Overlay District areas.
(3) Property is further than 100 feet from other residentially zoned property.
(4) Utility and transportation infrastructure is adequate to meet the needs of the development without public investment; and
(5) No publicly funded housing, services, or programming located adjacent to the proposed hotel district are displaced or negatively impacted by the development.
(f) Review. Developments within the hotel district shall follow the processes outlined in Article V of this Chapter except that all hotels or mixed-use developments that include a hotel as a primary use, may be reviewed as a Level I or Level II provided the total square footage of the uses other than the hotel are less than 100,000 square feet:
(1) Compliance with all applicable development standards is achieved and modification of those standards is not required; and
(2) The applicant voluntarily incorporates the recommendations of the Design Review Committee as demonstrated by an affirmative majority vote.
(g) Development Standards. All hotel developments in the Hotel Overlay District shall meet the following development requirements:
(1) Site standards.
a. Setbacks. A minimum setback of five feet shall be required for the front. Side and rear setbacks shall be required as identified in the underlying zoning district in which the project is located.
b. Open space. Open space shall be provided as required by section 7-11-4 of this chapter.
c. Impervious surface. The maximum impervious surface shall be established by the underlying zoning district standard.
d. Parking. Parking and loading facilities shall be provided as required by section 7-11-2 of this chapter.
e. When parking is located between a building and the street, parking shall be set back an average 20 feet from the property line or right-of-way line, whichever is more restrictive. In any instance, a minimum setback of 10 feet shall be maintained at all points.
f. Landscape and buffering. Landscape and buffering shall be provided as required by section 7-11-3
of this chapter. No buffer reductions shall be permitted for hotels.
g. Lot size. Lot size shall be required as identified in the underlying zoning district in which the project is located.
h. Lot width. All new construction of large hotels shall maintain a minimum lot width of 100 feet. Properties without frontage on a public or privately maintained right-of-way shall be required to extend a new right-of-way and street to meet this standard.
i. Sidewalks. Sidewalks shall be provided as required by and pursuant to the requirements for sidewalks as set forth in section 7-11-8 of this chapter. In addition, the following shall apply to sidewalks:
i. Sidewalks along road corridors shall maintain a minimum width of 10 feet and shall be set back a minimum of eight feet from any collector or arterial road, and five feet from all local roads.
ii. Sidewalks shall be designed and graded to connect to existing or future adjacent sidewalks and provide easements where necessary.
iii. Sidewalks internal to the site shall meet a six foot wide minimum standard and connect principal uses and buildings.
iv. Doors, planters, utility boxes and other permanent elements shall not encroach into any minimum sidewalk width.
(2) Operational standards
a. Guest drop-off and loading areas. For properties located in the Central Business District and the River and Haywood Road Form Districts, guest drop off and loading areas shall be located to the side or rear and not in front of the leading edge of any facade that abuts any public street.
b. Operable pedestrian entrances. All buildings shall include a minimum of one well-defined operable entrance on the facade(s) abutting the primary street corridor.
c. Mix of uses and ground floor activation. For buildings with a width greater than 50 feet, and when located in the Central Business District or the River Arts Form Code areas, a minimum of 50 percent of the street facing facade shall be set aside as a separate, occupiable storefront(s) with a minimum depth of 15 feet and an average minimum depth of 20 feet, and must have their own public entrance from the street. Where multiple facades face a public street, the 50 percent minimum may be aggregated.
d. Noise and other land use conflicts. The following facilities or uses may not be located within 100 feet (excluding rights-of-way) of a residential zoned area:
- Restaurants
- Bars and nightclubs
- Dumpster, trash and recycling facilities
- Loading docks and maintenance facilities
- Outdoor pools, decks, patios and dining areas
e. Public benefit. All projects shall incorporate features that provide a public benefit as identified in Appendix 7-A. - Public Benefits.
f. Traffic Impact Analysis. A Traffic Impact Analysis shall be required per section 7-11-6.
g. Shuttles. All large hotels shall provide a shuttle service to guests.
(3) Building design standards. These requirements shall apply to new construction and not apply to hotels that propose to occupy or adaptively reuse existing structures.
a. Height. The height of all new buildings shall be established by the underlying zoning district.
b. Fenestration. Fenestration is required along all building facade(s) at the following rates:
i. Facades facing primary and secondary streets. 50 percent minimum of the ground floor elevation, and 20 percent minimum for upper stories.
ii. Non-street facing facades. 20 percent minimum for all stories. Fenestration is measured from top of the finished floor to the top of the wall plate. The percentage is derived for each story based on the transparent area of all ground or upper story windows and doors divided by the total area of the ground or upper story facade.
c. Parking structures. Parking garages fronting on, and located within 50 feet of primary and secondary streets in the Central Business District and River Arts District shall provide a full habitable story and use along the street-side facade(s) with a minimum depth of 20 feet.
d. Driveways and garage openings. One driveway or garage opening shall be permitted per street frontage and the total linear frontage of driveways/garage openings shall not exceed 50 percent of the total street frontage.
e. Lighting. Outdoor lighting must comply with section 7-11-10 of this chapter. The use of tube lighting or illuminated wall panels is expressly prohibited.
f. Signage. Identification signage for hotels shall be limited to a maximum of 80 square feet of attached, wall-mounted signage that may be divided into two signs, and a maximum of 60 square feet for a free-standing sign with a maximum height of 12 feet. This height limit shall not apply to a multi-tenant, joint identification sign.
(Ord. No. 2369, § 1, 5-27-97; Ord. No. 4855, § 1(u), 2-23-21; Ord. No. 4920, § 1(c, d), 12-14-21)