Wine Country Inn Plans Proceed, Slightly Scaled Back: Livermore

LIVERMORE, CA — The Livermore City Council is moving forward with plans to develop the Wine Country Inn in south Livermore after neighbors tried to block the hotel, The San Jose Mercury News reported. The council did, however, decide to make some changes to the hotel plans.

While proponents, such as the Livermore Valley Wine Growers Association, said that a wine country hotel would bring more wine connoisseurs to the area, critics worried about the impact the hotel would have on the neighborhood, the paper reported.

The council Planning Commission first approved plans for the 30-room, 29,300-square-foot, two-story hotel on Nov. 5, according to a city report on the inn. Testimony between those in support and opposition was evenly split.

On Nov. 19 a group called Friends of South Livermore filed an application to appeal the commission's approval. Friends of South Livermore did not provide public comments on the project at the Nov. 5 meeting, the city wrote, but claimed the project could have an impact on the environment and was in conflict with the Livermore General Plan.

The council ultimately voted at its Jan. 13 meeting to proceed with plans for the inn, but after making some changes, The Mercury News reported. It agreed to remove 19 unpaved overflow parking spots, cap the restaurant/bar capacity at 77 people (down from 100 people) and replant 17 trees on the property that would need to be removed during construction.

The new plans will go back to the Planning Commission for approval, the paper reported.

Read more about plans for the Wine Country Inn here.

Read more at The Mercury News.