EKN Development has filed a new application for its proposed luxury hotel project in downtown Petaluma that includes a four-story, 56-room hotel with surface parking. The new design appears to be a notable revision of its initial, controversial project, which called for a six-story hotel with numerous high-end amenities and features. A city official, though, said that while the new application does appear to change the earlier, larger proposal, EKN has yet to withdraw its original plan. Reached Friday, Brian Oh, Petaluma’s director of Community Development, said, “The general plan amendment that would have allowed for the square footage to go up to the (six-story hotel) is basically on hold depending on whether or not ( Petaluma City) Council elects to put it on the ballot next year.” Oh added that while the city received the new application late last week, it will not be reviewed until the Newport Beach-based developer pays the required deposit of $8,357. 03, which covers Petaluma’s costs for an initial evaluation. Once that fee is paid, the city has 20 to 30 days to determine whether the application is complete, he said. “We’ve sent the invoice and we can give an update sometime in December, assuming it’s a complete application,” Oh added. EKN’s original proposal, backed by celebrity chef Charlie Palmer, is earmarked for a long-vacant lot at B Street and Petaluma Boulevard North. It is unclear if Palmer supports the new proposal. The larger hotel plan includes a full-service, gourmet restaurant, a rooftop event space, underground parking for 58 vehicles, and 93 rooms. Supporters of the original proposal laud the design, believing it would attract visitors to downtown Petaluma, create dozens of jobs and pump nearly $1 million annually in transient occupancy and sales tax revenue into the city’s coffers. The larger plan, though, has also attracted vocal detractors. A residents’ group, Petaluma Historic Advocates, objects to the height and size of the original hotel design and believe it threatens the “historic character” of downtown Petaluma. The group has gathered enough signatures to force a referendum that could repeal Petaluma’s recently adopted Downtown Housing and Economic Opportunity Overlay, the zoning change that paved the way for the original hotel plan. The referendum will be decided by voters in November 2026. Oh said the new, smaller proposal may reflect a response to community pushback. “This project has had a lot of opinions on both sides,” he said. “I think there’s going to be the same amount of thought and opinion any version of this hotel was going to generate.” While the application reduces the hotel’s size and eliminates underground parking, Oh emphasized the city’s role in reviewing the new project. “The best thing we can do at this point is take a look at it, build the opportunity for the public to continue to provide input, and then we’ll get through the process and have an opportunity for the city to either approve or reject the project,” he said. Jane Hamilton, a former Petaluma City Council member who now leads Petaluma Historic Advocates, said her group is closely monitoring EKN’s second proposal. “It’s just too new. We’ll be very interested to look at it with the rest of the community and see what it means,” she said Friday. Asked if she believes the smaller hotel indicates a firm shift in the project’s design in response to resident opposition, she said it is more likely a strategic move by the developer. “To me, that would seem like . both (proposals) are running concurrently. Might just mean hedging their bet to see if they could get what they want, and if they can’t, there’s a backup application so that they end up with something,” Hamilton said. EKN founder and CEO Ebbie Khan Nakhjavani could not be reached for comment Friday. Petaluma Mayor Kevin McDonnell is not happy with the new application. He said the smaller project would limit the economic benefits many downtown businesses would reap. “This is not good,” he said. “Generally, it means lesser tourist dollars being dropped at all the downtown businesses.” McDonnell added that while the new project technically complies with zoning, it likely will not satisfy all of the original plan’s critics. “They’re worried about traffic, and they’re worried about parking and I don’t think they’ll be happy (with the new proposal),” he said. “And in many ways, the council and the downtown businesses are going to be unhappy. I think the referendum people have got us into a pickle here, where the less good thing that still offends them is the thing that’s going to be proposed now.”.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2025/11/21/ekn-submits-new-smaller-proposal-for-luxury-hotel-in-downtown-petaluma/
