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HomeMy WebLinkAbout277JURZENIA A/C SILVER SANDS ~277 ~ LEVIN A/C SOUND SHORE May 26, 1960 Page 6 GRANTED permission for double-faced sign on property of Vincent Poliwoda, North Road and Albertson Lane, Greenport. . . COUNTY OF SUFFOLK STATE OF NEW YORK I ss. =n . Frederick C. Hawkins, being duly sworn, soys thot he is the owner ond publisher of THE LONG ISLAND TRAVELER - MATTITUCK WATCHMAN, 0 public news- paper printed ot Southold, in Suffolk County; and that the notice of which the annexed is a printed copy, has been published in said Long Island Traveler-Mattituck Watch- man once each week for ..rf)~...(II'1}f, wee'(' successive~ commencing on the ..........:./<:1................... day af ......)U.~........ 19.~d. ~ .............~:!::.:.~.~.r... ..c...(:<::~.-:r.~.~.":.~....... LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE OF . HEARING Pursuant to Section 267 of the Town Law and the prOvisions of the Ainended t Building Zone Ordinance of the Town t of Southold, Suffolk C.ounty. New York, i publfc hearings will be held by the I . Zoning Board of Appeals of" the Town I , of Southold at the Town Clerk Ollice, '1 Main~ Road, Southold, New York, on ' i May 26, 1960, on the followIng appeals: "! 7:30 P. M. (E.D.S.TJ; upon applica- tion of Thomas Jurzenia., ale Silver . Sands !Motel and Jack Levin, ale 'Sound Shore Motel, G.reenport, New ) York, for a special "exception in ae. ( I cordance with the Zoning' Ordinance, ~ Article III, Section 300, Subsection 11, t for permission to replace an existing -I directional sign wJ.th a. two-panel directional sign. Location of property: I southeast corner of intersection of North Road and Chapel Lane, Green~.: port, New York. 7:45 P. oM. (E.D.S.T,), upon applica- tion of Thomas Jurzenia. ale Silver Sands Motel and Jack Levin, alc Sound Shore Motel, Greenport, New ) York, for a special exception in ac- \ cordance with the Zoning Ordinance, Article III, section 300, Subsection 11, for permission to replace an existing directional sign with a two-panel di- rectional sign. Location of property: southwest comer of! intersection of , North Road and,' Albertson .Lane, \ Greenport, New York. Any person desiring to be heard on the above applications should, .appear at the time and place above specified. DATED: May 13,1960, By Order of the Southold Town Board of Appea,Ls. ~Uv Swam to before me this .....~cL........ day af .....$.r. 19..G...9 (]c&&P~ Notary Public Y ~DIlE PAYNE Notary Public, State of New Yorli Residing in ~uffol~ County No. 51.3041000 Commission Expires March 30, 19! (, ( - . TOWN OF SOUTHOLD, NEW YO~" APPLICATION FOR SPECIAL EXCEPTION .. 'If ~ thrd /~'/ APPLICATION NO.=<" 11 DATE.~~Y.'...~.~.~...1960 TO THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS, SOUTHOLD, N. Y. Thomas J=zenia, alc Silver Sands Motel )f (We) ..o!.~.~...;~Y.?:-!?:,....?/S..~.9~~.. .~):!..9~.e:.Jl1C?~~1.. ....... ....... ..... .~;-.e:e:!':lP.?;:~. ......... .............. Name Street and Number ............................ .!J.+.~!?np.9. ;r;.t............................... Municipality ... ........ ....!ll:~w. ..X'.9.;r;x;. ............... ......... State hereby apply to THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS for 0 SPECIAL EXCEPTION in accordance with the. ZONING ORDINANCE ARTICLE III SECTION 300 SUBSECTION 11 THE SPECIAL EXCEPTION IS REQUESTED BECAUSE we wish to replace the existing sign advertising the Sourd Shore Motel with two directional signs, each one advertising the Sound Shore Motel and the Silver Sands Motel. Each sign to be double faced. This special exception is requested because we are endeavoring to eliminate a surplus amount of signs. It is hoped in the near future to consolidate many of the other motel signs in the area in this ~ame manner. Location: Southwest corner of North Road and Albertson Lane. S:KETCH OF PROPOSED SIGNS ATTACHED. LETmER OF PERMISSION ATTACHED. STATE OF N~EW YORK ) ) 55 COUNTY 0 ) Sworn to this .....&i?.'1! da~....~~......., 19..w.?? .................~~;;;<~~,.~.........~ JUDITH T, BOKEN Notary Public, State of New York No..52-0344963. SuHclk Ccur,ty ~OmmjSsion. Expires March 3U", 1_9.61 f ................. FORM ZB2 'r-..... ,- . .. :, ,i 11 il 11 II Ii I: alc Silver Sandi!! .Motel and, Jack ;Le~r;j;ril alc 'Sound Shore Motel, I 1i Greenport~ New York,. for a spec i~.J, . exclilpti'on in accordance with i Ii . t :1' the Zoning Ordiilanctl.Article rII~ Section 300. Subsection 11, I , I , :1 for 1germiss.:j.on, to replace .an e:l;ttst~nljJ.'dire<!.tional siCjJn with a I ~ '. I ' j!two-panel directional sign. Location Of property: southwlilst I II . 'I' 1'1, corner of intersection of Nath Road and Albertson Lane. Greenport, " I " j "New York. Ii I, .I 'I it , \: )! \1 I ~ ii :1 p, it II I: ., il it I; I' i: d [I 0, j; I'. of the Amended Building' Zone Ordi.nance of' the Town of Southold, I; I' ' 11 Suffolk County, New York, public hli!arin'il's wi],l be hli!1d by the " 'I Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Southold at the TOwn r, ' , , F ' , ',' 0: Clerk OffiCii!, .Main Road, Southold~ New, York, on .May :;l6, 1960, '~ ': " , , 'ion the following appeals: ~ ' . . LEGAL NOTICE' ,Notice of Hearing Pursuant to Section 267, of the Town Law and the provisions 7:30 P.M. (E.D.S.T.), upon appJ,ication of Thomas Jurzenia, ,i:a/c Silver Sands Motel and Jack ;Levint a/cSound Shore Motel, I, I; Gr616lnport. New, YOrk,. ,for a special exc~ption in' accordance with ,r If the Zoning' Ordinance; Article III, Section 300, S\1bsecticn 11, "Ifor permiuion to. rep;Lace anexd!llting directional signwi.th ill , j: two-panel directional si.gn. Location' of property: southeast n . I: cllrner of 1ntersec;tioIi of Nortil ~oad and Chapel Lane, Greenport, 'I New York. 7:45 P.M. (E.l).S~T. ),'uponappl1catioIi of 'I'h,omas Jurzenia. I Ii tl. il " I II l I I I . i I j I I I I I " I I I I DATED: !/ il jl ii ::' Pl.EASE PUB:LISH ONCE, MAY 19, 1960, AND FORWARDTEREE(3) 11 ' .' '. ... . ilAFFIDAVITS OF PUBl.i:CAT~ON IMMEDIATELY TO THE BOAlW OJ!' APPEALS, l . . . !ic/o TOWN CLERKS OFFICE" MAIN ROAD, SOUTHOLD, NEW YORK. :1 " )1' I 'I ,'1' !. II I, 11 j' I: ' :' ;;- -,jJ I , ir~ge 'I , I I 'I " ;1 I, I { , i I I :1 II Ii I, ;[ ~ t il il \ if ' ,." j ,"! I. I i # \ if : I: II ,I 1/ I ji iI . 1 . , I 1-', , , 2 -Legal' Notice 1,' i I I, Ii ! should " I Any per sort desiring to be heard onth~ above applications' appear at the ti~earid place above specified. i I j I ofAPpeal~. ! May l3~' 1960, By Order of the,Southold Town Board * * * ** * * * * 'It' i j I , ! I , I Copies mailed to toe following on~ay 13, 1960: Thomas Jlir2;enia Jack Lev in ' Long Islartd ~raveler~Mattituck Watchaart I " i I I I I I , , I SOUONE "sHouLD APPEAR, AT" Tm: HEARING. I. , I I I it moving horse while looking over his shoulder. Mr. Ringe. mann' proposes to put up a protective railing, with a rule that unmounted YOl~ng5ters stay outside when the horses are moving. This slep has been delayed while the motel attempts to get a I.arger merry-go-round. GUESTS, NOT DOLLAR SIGNS Edward Clark Clark's Motel, GreenviIle, Pa. We operate a motel in a small town and have no road signs. OUf experie:nce has proved to us that you and your motel are your hest advertising outlets. A modern, clean, comfortable motel room and a pleasant host with a personal welcome will bring all the trade you can handle. Make your guest feel you have a personal interest in his comfort and stay with you and his advertising will reach more, farther, and better trade, than any type of advertising. We have been playing with the idea of a 5" x 8" plastic card for each room showing a map of the roads in and out of town, with locations of the motel and places that would interest our guests-such as restau- rants, theatres, bowling alleys, parks, lakes, taxis, and recreational spots. On the other side pf the card we- would describe OUf accommodations briefly and list items that our guests may have forgotten and are available for him (razor blades, toothbrush, toothpaste, combs, . aspirin, handkerchief, first aid items). The thing to re- member is that he is your guest, not a dollar and cents customer. A business Christmas card to your regular guests is seldom forgotten, and you will have much satisfaction when he thanks you personally for remembering. LOCAL ASSOCIATION HELPFUL Roy AcIand River Court, Fort M,'crs, Fla. We have ,an active and friendly motel association in Fort Meyers. All of us work together endeavoring to assist guests to find rooms when our rooms are full. We even make long distance phone calls and guarantee payment by sending OUf personal checks. As publicity secretary I have the opportunity to give various ideas (some of my own) a chance to be tried out and have now instituted for Fort Mye~s a prepaid reservation plan, which used in conjunction with the Lee County' motel map and accommodation guide gives an immediate satis- faction to a guest. Our new brochure gives the rates for from one guest to a family, plus the seasonal rates for five periods of the year for each motel, as weIl as the facilities offered and position to beach. Let's start off with a potential guest. He asks our rates (had start), so we try to show him what we have to offer first and tell him the rates as we go along. This avoids a lot of confusion. Often we let guests go to rooms on their own and we don't care what they examine. We follow them -in ahout two or three minutes if they AMERICAN MOTEL MAGAZINE for May. 1960 .' DURABLE and SMART furniture Lr-==> > 1 NO. 8240 Wall-Saving Easy Chair ALSO AVAILABLE IN SECTIONAlIZED CHAIRS AND lOVE SEATS. Wide assortment of chairs and tables. See your dealer or write us for .our distributor's name. AMERICAN CHAIR COMPANY Manufacturers Sheboygan, Wisconsin DhpICl~s: Chka9C1 . New.Vork . Mitlln; . llo51on ~ San Francilco the LIGHT that stops 'em!... ~ ~ - - ..-- 'baI's rkt"" You take no risk when't-'ou install outdoor fluorescent POST-LITES. . . because if. after 30 days you haven't noticed a r.rofitable increase in business. then return the lights for Cull re- und-thell coat you rwthing! How can we make this sensational money-back offer? . . . simply . because POST-LITES are a proven traffic stopper. They flood the highway with dramatic glare-free brilliance VISible a mile away, giving motorists plenty of time to notice, 'slow down. , .. and 8!?P! Better ioin the thousands of motel operators who are dlscoverlDg tbat POST~LITES are tbe cheapest and best advertising their money can buy. Economical to install and opera~e. they provide 10 times the light at half the cost. Models and SIZes for every type 0' installation. Send t0d4y lor FREE CATALOG, price lull ------:-------------, W. H. Long Co., 118 W.lll1nols 51.. Chicago 10 I Est 1911.19 Years (JfGuor4l1Ued Serme '(llnduRrv I Ploalo rulh FREE Catalog. Prlcel ond details of you I I Wrlnen Money~Back GUorontee. S I NOllie II Addresl ~~---------~~------~ MAIL COUPON lor FREE . CATALOG 49 '. have not returned to th~ .office and explain to them that the rate for each room is posted on the .closet door. ]f the .guest thinks our rates are 'too high we refer him to a district where the rates are lower because of distance from tOWIl. Should our motel be filled we ask the" guest his needs and then phone other nearby motels. The guest can look on the Le~ County motel map and see the location as well as what facilities are offered. The guest can then use OUf prepaid reservation system, if he wishes, wherehy we i,sslle him a re'gistration receipt card which guarantees him a certain unit. You might wonder what this does to promote and ad. vertise our motel. We believe that by doing a good turn " '" . As a final note, we do have two exceptionally honest and hardworking maids who have been at the River COllrt for nine years. They do their job, are civil to guests and helpful where possible. Believe me, this does make a difference to 'some people as to their length of sta}~, just as much as the manager being a good host. COOPERATIVE SIGN PROGRAM D 01vntown motels in Atlanta, Georgia, ha\'e joined with the hotels in an effort to snag the fast express- "my tourist traffic headed north from Florida. Utilizing an electrically operated sign similar to one --" ,,"Fa f'A~K'llG'1 UXJrif:Jl - , D1NKLER PLAZA "TV '-Ii" f.-'N.r. ATlANTA B1LTMORE \W'~\.i'~rw, \pFl r:r.I ~O.~Et.}A4.2~~I.. . " ",,!N' UP 1;.'-" '.' HOrEl" fR 5.j.461 . '8M';,P ; "J4.;,._'~'F-" ........- L fREE t ' ';I(,MlIJ!!lifOCL- "'. ,:.;- "GEC:)RGIA-1'HOTE' PA~l'.IH~-t. r .'f. I. ATlAHfACABANA HfAl.lIl.Wisl.,;.c." "J"f:....t "~,~,.-'i.'.i,.!..i....... _J.}..;.t't35~_!"_. .)~_'(>tlP ''0...1.,"'' MOTEl-' TR S-SSIl lO""UP "J~:_'.~?,^ W'''~""","~"..J."" ." '. . lWO ' F ! "''' ..i,'-IiEART OF ATLANTA s...''''''''''1 " '.'C" 'J' A~~~~~A ~~~;~IN i:~i~~1 \;'1.D~":01_: :.::t"~-BA~-~:'J~H,~:.I~'~~:'::~O~":~;OMO: VhV~' . FR": PIEDMONT HOTEL TV 1 "C' ..., , ATlj:~~:4~~TH ,. PA~!~~,~"I'f~ :I~~"~;:;U;-::ijf:<'''4/.~~"~'~c4~! .......... s.I~7~:OOl~\I~. > ;'.., "," '. BRIA~~L:.~7~IOlEL . p:51ii~J;~i~i/~ifL;~I~:K.:IT~T~:j~ ".:~~':'!OI,!ju~;I., This is the cooperative sign program being used by motels and hotels in Atlanta, Georgia. like this we will bring the guest back to us on a return visit. Alsol don't forget that other motels are sending guests to us in the same way if we have a vacancy. We have four billboards (two north and two south) "within ten miles of Fort Myers and have made arrange- ments with Duncan Hines for three additional billboards for erection on Route 80. These signs state a few facts- River Court: Downtown on waterfront: AAA, Duncan. Hinesl Restaurant one block, Efficiencies, Air conditioned. Size of boards are approximately 60 x 30 feet. We try to make 'all guests 'our friends and try to ob. tain the dates of their births so we can forward greeting cards. We believe birthday cards are more noticed than Christmas cards. It is my contention that you cannot do better than word of"mouth recommendation hacked up by honest truthful advertising. 50 in the Atlanta airport which shows motels and hotels having vacancies, free telephone service is being offered. Transients may slop and call collect any motel or hotel displaying the vacancy sign. The telephone, company co-operated by placing a toll phone booth near the sign, which is located approximate- ly 15 miles south of Atlanta on U. S. 41 which is now an expressway skirting the city, thus diverting a lot of the tourist traffic away from the central area. With the fast traffic on the highway, another smaller sign was placed two miles from the electric board in order to. slow the traffic down. This one tells the tourist there is a free telephone two miles ahead for reservations. The design is such that transients ,can make a selection of accommodations based on what they want to pay and facilities offered. M~nimum rates are quoted on the board. AMERICAN MOTEL MAGAZINE for May, 1960 -, _c-:;-'~~-"lI!',~,"7""""7:. - .~--.._-- 1....1. . ',' (. fii .'~., ~" ~,- -' " . '.-,'Tj~ . .' , ~ .,..- ---. ". I' I I t '," G.R,..~N' . "~"'" ''1f&.J.jfJ..c.:.~.<....., ",'r~" . . "f1' ...., ""'_V~,"'" '.. 1'\ .' r (). .. '..i..c...... -. .. :f' . :, <." . -- I I : - ,,', ,t, -... ~ ; " . .,.... .. ,:1" .. ,':."::""~' .", '; _' t, ........ ,t.."~""",~~",,, .....". I t, .... . <~.6',~,~~~~'~r(;InONlfO\ " ' tl2;U\l r,:.ti4J1JL~.;,,~\V~UJ~ / I . , I I _ I . I Ii, I 1 ., 1"> 11/.,,~. .,.,. ".'\ '-,"-----;7r- , , ._<'-.--,'-..~:":;'::",~-~-,-,.--'---=-- -, -~--- .'--7 ," _ -.----.-'1----','-.--.~. , )'", . ," '. '-!'~-' .: "! , '!-H' '. ::,j~$~:' ) I f "'.~ 'L ,.~:) . J~.~ .-'.~ / ' ! . I I , , .' .. . :.~ . . ' ,:,-",-~-'~,,'..-:tl-"~..",:t\:r--;;j,,'.~. ...<i' -. .;. ' ,,'- < 11;~i. ,.':r',-:, _?l'_1I.'_-;,'" : ,7--...<1" ,'fo. ~'-,- ;-'~' ;: ',::: ",;', ,,; 'J8i'i;~r/";'{~'''' " 1, _' ::I"~<' .," , j , I i I". .. L y':" i . .... , , G'h6a:t.I ,,-'f~- '--.;" , ,"",," -, ',,- " '"';-' " . , ~ . i . -Jr:z!.!~-'JJ I '. .' ' , , ! !, . . : /V. '., ........ ," . , i/I....tQ\c. \J.nr; rn~.:lfi:.'.~': !i~\~7~-?// \',-1; \~YU'"JL: Ul.H. I. "-- '_i '"\J '~iL.\ f"''':-~,::" "1 ". -..,' . '.."' I . . '. .. . , I ~ ---<:. """""-'-~, '. , .j i I , , i i I , I I I I \ j I '"... I I \ " / Copyrighted 1960 5. ~: Motels and Zoning by Richard F. Babcock and R. Marlin Smith RICHARD F. BABCOCK and R. MARLIN SMITH are members of the Chicago Bar, and partner and associate, respectively, in the firm of Ross, McGowan & O'Keefe. Mr. Babcock is an affiliate member of the American In- ~titute of Planners and author of numerous articles on zoning law. / ///~ Motels and Zoning /' / T he rapid growth of the motel industry in tne last fifteen years has made the zoning regulations of many municipalities out- moded because those regulations were de- signed to control a fonn of land use the,.. character of which no longer conforms to the assumptions. upon which the ordinances were drafted. Twenty or twenty-five. years ago the words tourist court conveyed to the mind an image of a group ~of somewhat shabby cabins, in various states of disrepair, which were crudely furnished and occasion. ally without private bathroom facilities. The average American ,family traveling by auto. mobile avoided .th~m for their overnight stops unless forcc;9/hy economic necessity or un. usual circumstances to make use of their facilities:Today the thousands of fine motels, locarea at strategic locations on our major highways, offer facilities that are at least ~qual to, and in many instances, far more luxurious than the accommodations that the downtown hotel provided for an earlier generation. A Multitude of Problems The dramatic change in the social and economic status of this type of lodging has brought with it a multitude of problems with respect to the proper location of the motel within a community. It is our purpose to examine briefly the attempts of communi. ties to regulate the location of motels, to comment upon the experience of these regula- tions in courts and finally to suggest some standards by which this issue should be judged. A study of motel zoning regulations and of court decisions leads to the conclusion that the motel industry has, in its dealings with local governments and courts, been faced with two major difficulties. First, it seems clear that local legislators (whether county or municipal) and their planning staffs or consultants have failed (or refused) to recog- nize that the modern mote] has at least four major functions insofar as its service to the public is concerned. Secondly, the motel industry has had to struggle with local legis- latures and the courts to overcome long- established prejudices against types of tran. sient lodging other than that falling under the ...rthodox concept of a Central Business Dis- trict "hotel." This is best evidenced by the tortured efforts in zoning ordinances (and some court decisions) to draw distinctions between "hotels" and "motels." A study of a cross.section of local ordinances and the court decisions is more meaningful if these two generalizations are kept in mind. The character of the demand for motel accommodations is not uniform, a condition previously noted by Richard L. Nelson in this series. The contemporary motel, to meet the varied nature of the demands for its services, will seek to locate in at least four types of areas, each significantly distinct in its character from the others. These are: (1) the highway motel, which caters. almost ex. elusively to motorists stopping only overnight or for a few days at most; (2) the resort motel, which is located in an area that caters to vacationers or near a tourist attraction such as a national park, and which may expect to retain its guests for from one to two weeks or more; (3) the airport motel, which is located strategically close to a major airfield and caters largely to individuals traveling by air and only incidentally to the motorist; and (4) the downtown motel, which is often difficult to distinguish from a hotel and which caters partly to motorists and partly to visitors coming to the urban area for conventions, vacations or business trips. The efforts of communities to cantrol so complex a land use by reference to con. cepts of an earlier generation inevitably reo sults in confused and frequently arbitrary regulations. An examination of a few zoning regulations confirms tbis premise. Common Motel Zoning By far, the most common fann of motel zoning is the ardinance which relegates motels ta the least restrictive commercial zones ar industrial zones. Underlying such treatment is the assumption that motels are not entitled to different treatment than the average business or commercial use. Typical of this attitude is the Columbus, Ohio, Zon. ing Ordinance, which makes provision for five commercial districts including the Cen- tral Business District. Motels are permitted in the Cog. C-4 and the Central Business " ,. District, but are excluded from the more restrictive C-I and C.2 Districts. In the C-3 District, most of the permitted uses are sllch that they can he conducted indoors with little impact on adjacent property. The uses include bakeries, filling stations, hotels, hard. ware stores, clothing stores, motOr bus termi. nals, motion picture theatres, trade schools and business colleges, etc. In the C.4 Dis- trict, bowling alleys, garage repair shops, printing shops, skating rinks, supermarkets and veterinary hospitals, among others, may exist in the same use zone as morels. SimilarJy the zoning ordinance of Baton Rouge (city and parish), Louisiana, allocates the motel to districts in which its permitted neighbors include "furnace, heating, air-conditioning, typewriter, sheet metal, plumbing, tire, mOlor vehicle repair and similar shops," and "poultry and fish markets." The basic weakness in a scheme of zonjng regulation which limits motels to the "heavy" commercial districts is that the Success of a motel wilJ, to some extent, depend upon its being insulated from commercial establish- ments whose operations are apt to interfere with the sleep of its Occupants. In Contrast In contrast to this "ash can" approach, many municipalities seem to have come to the conclusion that the motel is as much entitled to protection from the incompatible use of adjoining land as is the quiet, residen- tial neighborhood. Indeed, some communities have acknowledged the motel should be treated as a type of high-density residential use. In the City of Los Angeles, for example, botels and motels are pennitted in the R-4 !\.fultiple Dwelling District along with apart- ment houses, churches and schools. The same technique has been used in Denver, Colorado, and in Duval County (Jacksonville), Florida. In the latter ordinance, multiple-family dwell- ings, bungalow courts and motels are per- mitted in the Residence "D" District and in the Residence "D-I" Dislrict in which trailer parks are also permitted. In the De- troit, Michigan, Zoning Ordinance, motels are listed in high-density multiple-family dwelling districts in which hotels, private professional offices and rooming and lodging houses are permitted. The City Plan Commission, how. ever, is required to approve the establishment of a motel "as being essential or desirous to the public convenience or welfare, not injurious to the surrounding neighborhood and not contrary to the spirit and purpose" of the ordinance. The Syracuse, N ew York, Zoning Ordi- nance permits motels in two "Office Dis- tricts." In one such district, motels and hotels are permitted uses as are office buildings, apartment houses, barber shops, beauty par. lors and newsstands. In the less restrictive Office District, restaurants are also pennitted if located in an office building, apSI1ment house, hotel or motel, and swimming pools are permitted as an accessory use. Sllecial Motel Zone Another regulatory technique is the creation of a special motel zone. In some instances this is simply a refinement of the practice of allowing motels in high.density residential districts. The Traverse City, Michigan, Zon. ing Ordinance contains a motel district which is simply an extension of the multiple.family dwelling dhtrict with "motels and cabins" added as an additional permitted use. No retail or commercial facilities may be as- sociated with motels in the motel district. The Chattanooga, Tennessee, Zoning Ordi. nance establishes a "tourist court, trailer camp and motel district" in which. in addition to those uses, multiple dwellings, boarding houses, lodging houses, private clubs, guest houses and tourist homes are also penniUed. A more detailed type of regulation is .that which has been adopted by Marion County (Indianapolis), Indiana. The county zoning ordinance creates a "Temporary Residential District" under which there are three sub. classifications. In the "RT-I District" the customary spectrum of residential uses and motels are permitted, together with communi. ty centers, public parks, public playgrounds and gymnasiums. In the "RT-2 District" motels are permitted along with tourist courts and tourists cabins, and in the "RT.S District" trailer camps are added to the list of per- mitted uses. The Pima County (Tucson), Arizona, Zoning Ordinance creates what is called a "transitional zone" in which tourist courts and motels, guest ranches. trailer courts (if on a state or federal highway), clubs, storage garages, hospitals and a variety of public uses of land are all permitted. The Pima County Ordinance is noteworthy be. cause it recognizes that some very limited business uses are frequently appropriate in connection with the operation of a motel; the ordinance allows retail shops, personal services, recreational facilities, restaurants and beverage service as an accessory use on the premises of a motel or hotel. Plausible Variation 1\tlore plausible variations of the special motel zone technique are zoning provisions' designed to open areas along heavily-traveled highways for development by motels. while excluding other commercial uses which could develop if Donnal Commercial zoning were adopted. One example of this type of zoning is the Durham County, North Carolina, Zoning Ordinance which creates a "Highway Commercial District" in which motels, filJing station!!, restaurants, retail stores and other businesses which may serve the needs of motorists are permitted to locate. The neces- eity for overnight accommodations along major highways has led the communities of Cannel, New York, and Milford, Connecticut, both of which are on parkways, to adopt zoning provisions which permit the construc- tion of motels on land adjacent to parkways, hut which exclude most commercial uses. In addition, strict standards are set for motels in those districts so that attractive designs utilizing deep setbacks and low density will result and so that the development of motels in those districts will he compatible with near-by residential areas. Santa Clara County, California, permits motels in what is called the I'H_l District" subject to the issuance of an architectural and site control permit. In that district one-family dwellings, agricultural uses, filling stations, restaurants, refreshment stands, nurseries, greenhouses, trailer parks and retail stores are also permitted. Another variation is found in the Portland, Oregon, Zoning Ordinance which permits motels as well as hotels in certain apartment house zones,. provided the property abuts on a numbered state or federal highway other than a ~ limited access throughway. In Tampa, Florida, motels are allowed in the R-3 Multiple Family Zone if the property is located on a state or federal highway, but the site plans must be approved by the Zoning Board of Adjustments after a public hearing. Tbe Duval County, Florida, Zoning Ordinance allows motels in both agricultural zones. In practice, this provision should mean tbat motels will, for economic reasons, locate only on the main highways is such zones. "Special Use" Technique The most persuasive evidence that the motel still has not achieved general accept- ance in the community mind (the local resi. dent has one view while at home, another when touring) is the frequency with which ordinances treat motels as a special use for which special permission to locate must be obtained from local authorities. The "special use" technique has come into wide use during the last decade as a means for deferring decisions as to the proper location of what are considered "troublesome" uses. Typically, such uses include trailer camps, gravel pits, race tracks, outdoor lheatres~and, motels. The result is that the decision to grant or deny a permit is subject to the almost unlimited discretion of a local hoard. This "technique of procrastination" takes various shapes insofar as motels are con- cerned. The least offensive is illustrated 'by the 1954 zoning ordinance of Kansas City, Missouri, under which motels are 'only per- mitted in certain commercial zones, but may also be located in any other zone in which they would not otherwiSe;: be permitted pro- vided a special use permit is obtained from the local zoning authorities, a procedure which involves the approval of the plans and specifications of the motel to be con- structed. Under the zoning ordinance for the City of Macon and Bibb County, Georgia, motels are listed as a "conditional use" in the multiple-family district. In order to estab- lish a motel in a multiple-family district, an application must be made to the Planning and Zoning Commission and there must be a hearing before that Commission. The Com- mission must find that tbe establishment of a motel on the property involved would be consistent with the general zoning plan and with the public interest. In addition, mini. mum lot area and lot size restrictions are imposed so that no motel can abut too closely upon neighboring property used for perma- nent residential purposes. Under the Multno- mah County, Oregon, Zoning Ordinance, motels are permitted in the Apartment. Residential A-2 District, but only if a public hearing has been held before the Planning Commision on the proposed motel. The Planning Commision may attach such special conditions relating to set-backs, screening, off- street parking and loading, construction standards, and maintenance as it thinks neces- sary to protect the public and the adjacent properties. Du Page County, Illinois, allows motels in any residential zone provided a special use pennit is secured from the County Board. To obtain a pennit, an applica. tion is made to the Zoning Board, which bolds a hearing on the application and makes a recommendation to the County Board with respect to whether the permit should be issued. Highly Restrictive Provisions Not all communities have used the special use device solely as a method of permitting motels in residential zones upon special dis- pensation. Some municipalities and counties will not permit motels anywhere within the corporate limits unless a special use permit has been obtained, and among these com. munities are found some of the most highly restrictive provisions with respect to motels. Under the St. Joseph County, Indiana, Zon- ing Ordinance, motels are not a permitted use in any district, but are classified as special uses in the Limited and General Commercial Districts and the Industrial Dis- trict. The Board of Zoning Appeals is em- powered, before granting a permit for the lot area, regulations. Thus the question of whether a particular building is to be classed as a hotel or as a motel may determine whether. the requirements of the zoning or- dinance can be met. The dcvice of limiting the definition of motels to accommodations that cater to "overnight aulo tourists" Lakes account of only one of the possible forms that ,motels may take and leaves the classifi- cation of other types of motels entirely am- biguous. The writers have becn advised that an attempt has been made to eliminate the ambiguity in the Des Moines Ordinance with an administrative interpretation that if access to sleeping rooms is only through a common lobby, then the structure will be considered to be a hotel Administraliyc Interpretation The administrative interpretation that is applied in Dcs Moines has bccll written into the definition section of a number of or- dinances. For example, the Metropolitan Dade County (Florida) Zoning Ordinance de- fines a hotel as: "A building occupied as the more or less temporary residence of individuals who are lodged, with or without meals, and in which thcre are ten or more sleeping rooms 'and no provisions made for cooking in any individual room or apartment, and entrance is through a common lobby or office." A "motel or motor motel" is limited to: "A building or group of tWIl or more buildings designed to provide sleeping ac- commodations for transient or overnight guests with no common entrance or lobby, Each building shall contain a minimum of ten residential units or rooms, which gen. erally have direct private openings to a street, drive, court, patio, etc." "Common Lobby" Distinction The New Orleans, Louisiana, Zoning Ordi- nance uscs the "common lobby" distinction with an additional provision which reflects a moralizing attitude toward motels. In that ordinance, a hotel is defined as: "A building containing twenty (20) or more individual sleeping rooms or suites, having each a private bathroom attached thereto, for the purpose of providing overnight lodging facilities to the general public for compensation with or without meals, ex- cluding "accommodations for employees, and in which ingress and egress to and from all rooms is made through an inside lobby or office supervised br a person in charge at an hours." Other municipalities have adopted. more detailed definitions in an attempt to differ. entiate between hotels and motels. The Kan- sas City, l\'Iissouri, Zonirig Ordinance defines a motel as: "A motorist's hotel where no portion of the building is over two (2) stories in height and where at least fifty (50) per cent or more of the guest rooms are on the ground floor level and open directly on a private roadway or court, and where at least one parking spacc is provided for each guest room." Partly Descripti'm, Pard)' Functional The Du Page County (Illinois) Zoning Or. dinance, after limiting hotels to buildings which provide "a common entrance, lobby, halls and stairways," defines motels as: "An establishment consisting of a group of attached living or sleeping accommodations with individual bathrooms, and designed for use by transients. A motel fumishes customary hotel services such as maid serv- ice and laundering of linen, telephone and secretarial or desk service, and the use and upkeep of furniturc. In a motel less than 50% of the living and sleeping accommoda- tions arc occupied or designed for occu- pancy by persons olher than transient auto- mobile tourists." The partly descriptive, partly functional defi- nition in the Du Page Ordinance in effect confincs the definition of motel to those lodgings with relatively high standards of servicc. By definition, the less attractive "tourist cabin" has been eliminated. Treatment Vades Not all zoning ordinances provide more restrictive treatment for motels than hotels. For example, in the Traverse City, Michigan, Zoning Ordjnance motels are pennitted in the special motel zone previously mentioned, only if restaurants and retail and commercial facilities are not established in connection with the motcl. Gatlinburg, Tennessee, has adopted a similar limitation which permits motels in one of the two residential dig. tricts in the community provided the motel does not have a public dining room. Hotels and motels with public dining rooms are restricted to the business diiltrict. The pro- visions of the Seattle. Washington, Zoning Ordinance permit motels as a "principal con- ditional use" in a low.density multiple-resi- dence district from which hotels are excluded. In order to qualify, the motel site must be on a major arterial highway and conform to conditions relating to the type of facilities to be offered, the size of the lot and the type of signs used, but such restrictions are reasonable when designed to insure that the motel will be compatible with the adjacent residential pro pert)'. i , 1 es-tablisbment of a motel as a special use, to "establish appropriate conditions and safe- guards as 'a, part of such permission." The Talbot County,. ,Maryland, Zoning Ordinance does not pennit motels anywhere in the county unless a special use permit is granted. Including motels in the category of "tourist cabin camps," the ordinance lists motels as a special use along with junkyards, hulk petroleum storage, gravel pits" commercial poultry processing, sawmills and canning fac- tories! However, only motels, trailer coach parks, tourist cabin camps and outdoor theatres are subjected to any additional re,- strictions. In order to grant a special use permit, the Board of Zoning Appeals must find that the use of the property as a motel will not constitute a nuisance because of noise. sanitary conditions or traffic, and that it will not affect adversely the ,present char. acter of future development of the surround. ing residential community. A minimum lot area of five acres and a minimum frontage of 200 feet is required by the ordinance, and other requirements relating to land- scaping, open yards and the location of the units on the premises are also im posed. The restrictions in the Talbot County Ordinance placed on motels are not especially burden- some in themselves, but it is noteworthy that not even as unsympathetic a use of land as a junkyard is regulated as closely by tbe zoning ordinance as are motels-proof that the old prejudices do not die easily. Perhaps the most restrictive regulations examined in connection with this article are those imposed by Marietta, Georgia. The ordinance classifies motels as a "tourist camp or tourist court" and does not permit their establishment in the city unless a special use permit has been obtained. Application for a penuit is made by filing plans and specifications. In addition, there are minimum lot area, lot size and land use density provisions. Private bathrooms are required. The permit which is subse- quently issued is for an indefinite period and the ordinance provides that it can be re. voked at any time. Mixed in with the zoning provisions are other conditions, which must be met in order to keep the permit in force, relating to plumbing, electrical wiring, and other matters properly the province of the building code, and matters relating to sanitary facilities which are properly the domain of the health department. The owner of the motel and all of his employees are required to be finerprinted and to have periodic health examinations. Local Bias This diversified treatment of motels, of whicb these referenecs are only illustrative, might make sense if it could be assumed that the non-uniformity of regulation were based upon a careful analysis of the char. acter of each community and a recognition of the varied demand for motel facilities. Un. fortunately, it is equally plausible to argue that in many communities the classification of the molel in the zoning ordinance is noth- ing more than a reflection of local bias. The frequent attempts in zoning ordinances to distinguish between "hotels" and "motels" appear to hear out this unhappy conclusion. The failure of many zoning ordinances to take account of the increasing diversity of the motel function is reflected in the dis- tinctions that are found in ordinances between hotels and motels. Although a variety of dif- ferent definitions of motels and hotels have been incorporated in zoning ordinances, no satisfactory functional distinction seems to have been found. Definitions based on tbe physical characteristics of hoteh and motels are common, but no one solution offers the flexihility that is required if an appropriate place for all types of motels is to be found in the community. Hotel and Motel Definitions The Evansville, Indiana, Ordinance defines a hotel as: "A building or portions thereof used for more or less temporary Occupancy of in- dividuals who are lodged with or without meals and in which provision for cooking is made preponderantly in a central kitchen and not in the individual rooms or suites." Motels are distinguished as: "A pennanent building or group of build- ings containing rooms without cooking facilities, used, rented or hired out for the more or less temporary occupancy of over- night guests." Motels Are Limited On the basis of this distinction, hotels are permitted in the multiple family residential zone while motels are limited to the down. town business and the general business zones. The Des Moines, Iowa, Zoning Ordinance defines a hotel as "a building in which lodging is provided and offered to the public for compensation, and which is open to transient guests, in contradistinction to a boarding house or a lodging house," and a motel is defined as "a building or group of attached or detached buildings containing individual sleeping or living units for overnight auto lourists, with garage attached or parking facilities conveniently located to each such unit." Hotels and motels are both allowed in high-density multiple-family residence dis- tricts and in commercial districts, but motels are required to comply with larger minimum In contmt tose ordinances which allow motels in lower 'density, more restrictive dis- tricts than hotels, some communities provide much more favorable treatment for hotels than for motels. The Mobile, Alabama, Zon- ing Ordinance apparently limits motels to the indwstrial districts-a restraint not imposed on hotels. And the Village of Ardsley, New Yark, forbids motels anywhere within the village limits-a prohibition that is not appli- cable to hotels. Relatively few communities have been will- ing to concede that there is no rational dis- tinction between a motel and a hotel. The planning consultant to Niagara Falls, New Yark, has recommended that the proposed Niagara Falls, New York, Zoning Ordinance contain only a single definition of a hotel as: "Any building or portion thereof or any building group which contains sleeping accommodations in ten or more rooms for persons who are not members of a family as defined in the section, whether such establishment is designated as a hotel, inn, automobile court, motel, motor hotel, motor . inn, molar lodge or otherwise." The acceptance of hOLels and motels as being sufficiently similar to allow tbe same zoning regulations to he applicahle 10 both has met with acceptance in other ordinances. The City of Los Angeles, California, treats hotels and motels without kitchen facilities as the same type of use and permits both in some high density residential districts as well as in most commercial districts. In the Broward County (Florida) Zoning Ordinance, hotels and motels are hoth permitted in two special districts, one of which is caned the Motel District and the other the Hotel District. More restrictive height, bulk, lot size and yard area requirements are imposed in the former district than in the latter, but the restrictions are equally applicable to hotels and motels. This study of contemporary regulation of motels through zoning ordinances will con- clude with an analysis of the attitudes of the courts toward these provisions and with some proposals for a more rational legislative treatment of this type of land use. ~ . . ~ ?"/ .. .. ~ II %,,; " ...... 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