By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The owner of the defeated Victory Inn in Bowling Green has filed an appeal, saying the city improperly denied him a variance to build another hotel.
The proposed new hotel would be at the same location, 1630 E. Wooster St., as the Victory Inn, which was frequently the source of complaints about bedbugs, plumbing and electrical problems, the lack of smoke alarms and cleanliness violations.
After nearly five years of wrangling with the owner, Jamal Garmo, of Michigan, the hotel was demolished last October.
Last month, the Zoning Board of Appeals listened to Garmo’s new plans to construct a new hotel. Garmo needed approval from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals, since the hotel he is proposing exceeds the city’s height and story limits.
By a vote of 3 to 2, the board rejected Garmo’s request.
The appeal, filed by Bob Spitler in Wood County Common Pleas Court, stated the board’s denial was “unconstitutional, arbitrary, capricious and an unreasonable exercise of discretion.” The appeal continued to state the denial posed an “unreasonable hardship” against Garmo.
City Attorney Mike Marsh said Friday afternoon that the appeal was likely filed just in case it was needed, since it was required to be filed within 30 days.
Marsh added, however, that Spitler notified him that new hotel plans would be coming.
“I heard they were working on revised plans that would comply with the zoning code requirements,” Marsh said. “If that happens, then everybody is happy.”
In May, Garmo presented his request for a variance to allow construction of a 107-room hotel on the eastern portion of the seven acres that previously housed Victory Inn. The proposed hotel was 65 feet tall, five feet taller than allowed, and five stories high, one story higher than allowed in B-2 general commercial zoning. The proposed hotel would have been a relatively new Hilton product called Home 2, which offers extended stays.
After having his variance request turned down, Garmo expressed his displeasure with the zoning board of appeals.
“Five stories is a signature from the highway,” Garmo said, adding he originally wanted the hotel to be six stories.
“I’m very disappointed, very disappointed,” he said, telling the board the hotel would have been a $10 million investment in the city. “This would be a Taj Mahal in the city – the best thing ever going to happen to your city.”
Garmo was assured by the board that the city is not opposed to a new hotel, but it must meet requirements. There are multiple times every year when the hotels in the city are packed, some members of the board noted.
On behalf of Garmo, Andy Andre, of Bud Design & Engineering Services Inc. in Grand Blanc, Michigan, explained to the board that Hilton was insistent on the signature “beacon” look of the Home 2 hotels, and that feature pushed the height beyond the city’s limit.
“The brands do not want anything less than four stories,” Andre said. And removing the “beacon” part of the structure was out of the question, he said, comparing it to asking McDonald’s to limit its sites to one arch.
By building upward, the 107-room hotel would have a much smaller footprint than the two-story Victory Inn which had 103 rooms, Andre said. However, after the board’s rejection, Andre said he may ask Hilton to be flexible and allow a four-story hotel.
Though no specific plans were presented, Andre said the smaller footprint of the taller hotel would have allowed for other businesses on the seven-acre site. He said the remainder of the property could possibly be “mixed use” with some retail, office and residential.
