The applicant is requesting a SUP to construct a Limited Service Hotel within the Gateway Corridor (OG) and Interstate 35 Business (B-3) zoning district. A Limited Service Hotel requires a Specific Use Permit (SUP) in the B-3 zoning district. 

The applicant is proposing to construct the hotel on the portion of the property closest to the intersection of West Goforth Road and Rylander Street. The hotel is proposed to be 4 stories tall. The proposed hotel received a Zoning Special Exception from the Zoning Board of Adjustments to exceed the B-3 zoning district height limit of 45 feet by 10%, (4.5 feet) to allow a building height of 49.5 feet, not including parapets. 

A dual brand hotel is proposed, on one side of the lobby it will be a Springhill Suites, and on the opposite side, a Towne Place Suites is proposed. 

An SUP was previously approved by City Council on this property for a Hotel on February 28, 2025. Since that time, the applicant has increased the number of hotel rooms and modified the site plan to accommodate additional parking. Additionally, they requested a Special Exception to reduce the parking requirement by 13 spaces, as well as a reduction of the first floor glazing requirement by 10%, both of which were approved by the Zoning Board of Adjustments at their June 25, 2026 meeting. The request before you reflects these changes. 

The hotel is proposed to be 4 stories tall and received a Zoning Special Exception from the Zoning Board of Adjustments to exceed the B-3 zoning district height limit of 45 feet by 10%, (4.5 feet) to allow a building height of 49.5 feet, not including parapets. Building height is defined in Section 5.02 of the UDC as "The vertical distance measured from the average grade level to the highest point of the roof, excluding ornamental features that do not contain floor area (e.g., a parapet, church steeple or bell tower)". ZBOA approved this request on September 24, 2024. 

The applicant sent letters to property owners within 400 feet of the property advertising their neighborhood meeting for the proposed SUP. None of the invited attendees attended the meeting. 

The Planning and Zoning Commission heard the original request at their January 14th, 2025, meeting and recommended approval of the SUP with the following conditions:  

1. Proposed enhanced services are required

2. Four Bicycle parking spaces are provided

3. Site Plan follows all rules and regulations of the UDC. 

The original SUP was approved by City Council on this property for a Hotel on February 28, 2025, with the following conditions:

1. Proposed enhanced services are required

2. Four Bicycle parking spaces are provided

3. Site Plan follows all rules and regulations of the UDC. 

After the SUP approval, the applicant submitted site plans that were inconsistent with the approved SUP. The submitted site plans increased the number of hotel rooms and modified the site plan to accommodate additional parking. At this time, Staff informed the applicant that they would need to conform with the approved SUP site plan or amend their SUP. The applicant chose to amend their SUP to include the additional rooms, and request two Special Exceptions from the Zoning Board of Adjustments. 

The applicant requested a Special Exception to reduce the parking requirement by 13 spaces, as well as a reduction of the first floor glazing requirement by 10%, both of which were approved by the Zoning Board of Adjustments at their June 25, 2026, meeting.

The SUP request before you reflects the updated room count with the modified parking and glazing ratios approved by ZBOA. . 

This property is within 400 feet of residential zoning districts and therefore is required to meet the Residential Adjacency Standards in the Unified Development Code Section 2.09.06. One of the most impactful regulations in the Residential Adjacency regulations is the building height setback per Section 2.09.06(D)3 which requires that nonresidential buildings are limited in height by a minimum 1/4 slope from the residential property line. Because of this requirement, the hotel building had to be located 196 feet away from the residential property line along the back of the Ashford Park neighborhood, due to the proposed building height of 49.5 feet. Staff looked for similarly situated buildings in Buda City Limits for a comparison and found that the three-story apartment buildings located at the Silverado Crossing Apartments were approximately 140-150 from the residential property lines of the homes in the Bradfield Village neighborhood. The closest 4 story building to a residentially zoned neighborhood is the Fairfield Inn and Suites, located at the intersection of Old San Antonio and Cabela's Road, which is approximately 850 feet from the nearest home in Bradfield Village. 

Generally, Limited Service Hotels do not have many amenities. Springhill Suites is identified in our UDC as a Limited Service Hotel; however, they have increased their amenity offerings and provided the City a list of amenities they intend to include at the hotel if their request for an SUP is granted. These amenities include the following:

• Business Center

• Enhanced Fitness Room

• Guest Laundry
• Outdoor Pool
• Large check-in area
• Lounge
• Meeting Space
• Hot Breakfast
• Breakfast Kitchen
• Patio with cooking area
• In-room Kitchen in TownePlace Suites
• All-Suite room hotel w/separate sofa sitting area
• 24hr-Market Shop
• Managed Wi-Fi Network
• In-guest room streaming
• EV-Charger

The following constitutes an evaluation of the proposed SUP using the UDC's criteria:

1. Safety of the motoring public and of pedestrians using the facility and the area immediately surrounding the site; 
2. Adequate means of ingress and egress to public streets or approved access easements and appropriate paving widths of streets, alleys, and sidewalks to accommodate traffic generated by the proposed use; 
3. Provisions for drainage;
4. Adequate off-street parking and loading;  
5. Safety from fire hazard and measures for fire control; . 
6. Protection against negative effects of noise, glare, and lighting on the character of the neighborhood, protective screening and open space; 
7. Heights of structures; and 
8. Compatibility of buildings and such other measures as will secure and protect the public health, safety, and general welfare. 

Staff has reviewed the criteria and has found the following:

1. Safety of the motoring public and of pedestrians using the facility and the area immediately surrounding the site; The applicant is proposing one driveway off of West Goforth Road, and one driveway off of Rylander Street. The applicant will be responsible for the construction of an 8 foot wide sidewalk along Rylander Street and is proposing to pay a fee in lieu for the shared use path required along West Goforth, which will be constructed as part of the City's West Goforth Bond project. Additionally, the number of trips generated by this business do not trigger a TIA per the UDC requirements. 
2. Adequate means of ingress and egress to public streets or approved access easements and appropriate paving widths of streets, alleys, and sidewalks to accommodate traffic generated by the proposed use; Adequate access is proposed off of Rylander and West Goforth, and there will be an access easement provided to the undeveloped remainder of the property. Additionally, sidewalks will be provided along Rylander and a fee in lieu is proposed for the shared use path along West Goforth. 
3. Provisions for drainage; The proposed design accommodates the requirements for drainage in the UDC.  
4. Adequate off-street parking and loading; The UDC has parking standards for hotels. Hotels require 1.1 parking spaces per guest room, the applicant is proposing 162 guest rooms, which requires 179 spaces. However with the approved Parking reduction from ZBOA, they are providing 166 spaces, a reduction of 13 parking spaces. Hotel uses do not appear to be one use that does not have a designated bicycle parking requirement, however the applicant is proposing 6 bike parking spaces. 
5. Safety from fire hazard and measures for fire control; All site plans and building permits are reviewed for fire code compliance. The proposed building will meet all construction standards for an occupancy of its type. 
6. Protection against negative effects of noise, glare, and lighting on the character of the neighborhood, protective screening and open space; The proposed use as is not anticipated to generate noise, glare, or lighting concerns more than any typical commercial development that might drive traffic to this location. The outdoor pool and deck are proposed to be located on the opposite side of the building from the neighborhood, so any noise from the outdoor pool area should be blocked by the hotel itself. The free standing light poles in the parking lot at 23 feet tall, which is less than the allowed 
7. Heights of structures; and The maximum building height for the B-3 zoning district is 45 feet. The applicant did request a Zoning Special Exception for an increase of 10% of the building height to allow a building height of 48.5 (not including parapets) which was approved by the Zoning Board of Adjustments. This property is within 400 feet of residentially zoned homes, which triggers a requirement for the building height to be limited by a 1:4 slope, measured from the residential property line. This structure will however be quite visible from neighboring residential property, particularly those homes that back to Rylander Steet, and this will be the tallest building within 400 feet of residentially zoned property anywhere within Buda City Limits. 
8. Compatibility of buildings and such other measures as will secure and protect the public health, safety, and general welfare. The 2017 UDC specifying the proposed use and requiring an SUP for the Hotel, Limited Service use is to ensure that it would be appropriate in the B-3 zoning district and surrounding area. Staff does not find that the proposed use would be against public health, safety, and general welfare. 

Approval of a Limited Service hotel use would provide additional Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) to the City in addition to ad valorem taxes for the improved property. 

Pro:  Approval of a Limited Service hotel use would provide additional Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) to the City in addition to ad valorem taxes for the improved property. 

Con:  Increasing the number of available hotel rooms in Buda can potentially drive down the city-wide cost per room which will negatively impact the existing Limited Service hotels. The occupancy tax revenue doesn't necessarily increase, rather it is distributed among all available rooms within the City. 

City Council may 

• Approve
• Approve with Conditions
• Deny
• Table