City Council unveils plans for new hotel
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

HILLTOP INN- This artist's rendering of the new Fairfield Inn & Suites-Hotel is presented at Wednesday night's council meeting.

Moorpark businesses, sports teams and residents will soon be able to direct their guests to the Fairfield Inn & Suites-Hotel on Sage Road just east of the 23 Freeway and Los Angeles Avenue.

The City Council voted 4-0, with Mayor Patrick Hunter absent, to approve the four-story, 112-room hotel geared to serve business travelers. Fairfield is a division of Marriott.

The local hotel will have a Mediterranean-style architecture to match nearby development.

"Obviously we need a hotel desperately in Moorpark," said Councilmember Roseann Mikos.

"The hotel is not going to impact the community, yet it provides a convenience to serve residents and local businesses," said Councilmember Janice Parvin.

"I think this will be a very successful venture in the community," said Mayor Pro Tem Keith Millhouse.

Moorpark doesn't have any hotels, and nearby hotels in Simi Valley operate with high occupancy, so "we knew there would be high demand in Moorpark," said Peter Bhakta, chief financial officer for Moorpark Hospitality Inc. The group owns nine other hotels in California.

CHECK IN TIME- This is a model of one of the suites planned for the new Fairfield Inn & Suites-Hotel scheduled to be built east of the 23 Freeway off ramp at Los Angeles Avenue, overlooking the city of Moorpark.

"We want to open as soon as possible," he said.

Since this is the first hotel in Moorpark, city officials will meet again soon to set a transient occupancy tax rate. Staff proposed that it should be 10 percent, but Bhakta suggested that 8 percent, which is more standard in the industry, would be best.

"The city will still make up to $300,000 per year through the transient occupancy tax along, not counting property taxes," he said.

"It's a win-win situation for the city. There's no other business that will generate this type of income for the city," said Bhakta. The transient tax dollars go directly to the city and municipalities can use the money however they want, he said.

Most of the rooms at the Fairfield Inn will be suites that will include a separate living room and a bedroom. The hotel operator anticipates rates will be $129 to $159 per night, depending on market rate.

Council members were mainly concerned about the building's height but they were satisfied with the designer's responses, showing that architectural designs will minimize visual impacts.

Officials also placed some extra requirements on the developer to ensure that lighting, landscape and building materials will deter vandals.

Graffiti has been on the rise in the city. It was up by 300 percent in recent weeks, said Moorpark Police Chief Jeff Matson.