Lincoln City Council approves La Quinta Hotel

After a long saga of Lincoln elected and appointed officials and residents having heated social-media and public hearings' conversations, Lincoln City Council approved Tuesday constructing a La Quinta hotel in Twelve Bridges. The council chambers were filled once again for this item and overflow was required on the first floor of City Hall. The item was brought to City Council after an appeal was made by the Law Offices of Donald B. Mooney on behalf of the Stop Lincoln Twelve Bridges Hotel group. The appeal was made due to the Aug. 21 decision by the Lincoln Planning Commission to approve a conditional use permit for the hotel project. Before the appeal hearing began Tuesday, Councilwoman Holly Andreatta and Mayor Paul Joiner recused themselves from the vote, due to potential Brown Act Violations. This was due to posts and comments made on social media about the hotel. "I have done nothing wrong, I have not violated the Brown Act, I am very clear on the Brown Act law and I have done nothing wrong," Andreatta said. Joiner also made a similar comment but in relation to the original Facebook post he made about the hotel in April. "One of the things I have learned over almost 11 years on this council is that people want to know what is happening," Joiner said. "As I learned about the hotel project, I shared essentially what was in the staff report details and there was no violation of the Brown Act there." Vice-Mayor Dan Karleskint and council members Peter Gilbert and Alysaa Silhi saw over the rest of the council meeting. Again, the Stop Lincoln Twelve Bridges Hotel group presented its issues. Those issues are that the hotel will be a risk to public safety, it's the wrong location so close to schools and the project is in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Lincoln Public Safety Chief Doug Lee presented data collected from the Holiday Inn Express in Lincoln throughout 2018. The data found that only four arrests were made with a direct connection within the hotel area for domestic violence, possession of illegal drugs and warrants in 2018. Lee went into greater detail about the multi-department prostitution sting operation held at the hotel. "We conduct undercover operations and we have done several of them at the hotel in Lincoln with a countywide task force that we have here in Placer County," Lee said. "Our number one goal is to rescue any human trafficking victims who we encounter and the secondary purpose is to arrest the people that are involved in it." During public comment, a mixture of opinions was heard. "To date, I do not believe there has been any evidence or data to affirm the appellant's claims," Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Tom Indreri said. "If this council tonight was to concur with the appellant's request to deny the La Quinta project, then the city would be living up to the first two words of the 'Stop Lincoln Twelve Bridges Hotel.'" Former Lincoln Planning Commission Brian Plumer spoke in opposition of the hotel. "If you want a reason not to approve this project but you want to make a viable decision, then you can rely on the FAR (floor to area ratio) argument that the design of this project violates our General Plan," Plummer said. When it came time for council's decision, council members said much of the data presented was circumstantial and not founded in any data that directly correlated with the city of Lincoln. "I am charged with finding a causal connection. I can't suppose. I can't stretch my imagination," Councilwoman Silhi said. "I am supposed to find substantial evidence that already has that causal link." The next City Council meeting will be at 6 p.m. Nov. 5 at Lincoln City Hall's council chambers on the third floor, 600 6th St. "I am charged with finding a causal connection. I can't suppose, I can't stretch my imagination," Councilwoman Silhi said. "I am supposed to find substantial evidence that already has that causal link." The next City Council meeting will be at 6 p.m. Nov. 5 at Lincoln City Hall's council chambers on the third floor, 600 6th St.