The plaza outside Enchanté Boutique Hotel will remain open to the public, with small plates and wine available in the evenings and on weekends.
The Los Altos City Council unanimously voted Aug. 25 to permit public food and beverage service from 4 p.m. to midnight on weekdays and 7 a.m. to midnight on weekends, holidays and for up to six special events per year. The bistro is now open from 4 to 10 p.m. daily, according to hotel owner Abigail Ahrens.
The council discussion arose two weeks after the Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC) approved expanded operating hours for Ahrens to serve nonhotel guests from 7 a.m. to midnight after she had requested operating hours of 4-10 p.m.
The PTC also granted Ahrens greater flexibility in managing the plaza – striking the word “minimum” from the 5-foot walkway requirement and eliminating the requirement that signage indicate that the plaza is public unless Ahrens so desires.
The PTC is the decision-making body for use-permit applications for businesses proposed in existing structures, such as the hotel. But councilmembers may initiate a review of any decision that is appealable to the council. In this case, councilwomen Megan Satterlee and Jeannie Bruins and Mayor Jan Pepper called up the permit for council discussion.
Satterlee took issue primarily with the plaza’s accessibility to pedestrians and nonpatrons.
“This is not the hotel’s plaza,” she noted. “This is a public plaza.”
Bruins voiced similar concerns, while Pepper wanted to review the extended hours.
Councilman Jean Mordo, who did not call up the matter for discussion, said he had a few concerns as well.
“I think it was simply a question of process,” he said of reviewing the decision. “It was not because we don’t trust the Planning Commission. … Most of the time we uphold the Planning Commission’s decisions.”
Mordo concluded at the meeting’s end that his concerns were addressed, but that he’d initially questioned the plaza’s continued maneuverability, signage and impact on parking.
Related to parking, however, Mordo noted that his Citywide Parking Committee is finding “contradictions in some of our ordinances, which results in us having to interpret them.” The committee will likely present its findings and recommendations to the council in the fall.
Ahrens developed the plaza as a public benefit in exchange for an incentive of no onsite parking. However, she added three curbside public parking spaces in front of the hotel. The plaza incorporates public land with private property, which has an easement for public use.
Service flexibility
Presenting her case before a packed council chambers, Ahrens discussed the hotel’s value to the city – up to $250,000 annually in transient occupancy taxes, she said, as well as positive publicity for Los Altos.
“You have a treasure other cities have had to pay for,” she said.
Ahrens told the Town Crier last month that offering food and drinks to the public was part of her initial business model.
Unable to serve potential patrons, her revenue stream and business reputation suffered, she told the council last week. She said thousands of people have requested food service since opening the hotel earlier this year and she has had to turn them away.
Enchanté General Manager Josh Steinhart confirmed that the bistro would not be open during all of the permitted hours.
“We just want the opportunity to do special activities, which would include serving on special occasions,” he said.
Bart Heckman, Ahrens’ land-use attorney, added that the plaza would be accessible to the public at all times as a walkway or place to sit without partaking of the bistro’s offerings.
As part of the use permit, the plaza must maintain a 5-foot passage of travel. The city will revisit the matter of signage if deemed necessary in the future.
Let them eat cake
Of more than 20 public commenters, all but one championed the hotel’s food service.
Los Altos Downtown Buildings Committee member Pat Marriott – speaking as a resident and not on behalf of the committee – voiced support for the hotel but expressed concern about following city regulations.
“For me, parking is the issue and fairness is the issue,” she said, referencing perceived inconsistencies in commercial parking requirements.
Others praised the addition of the bistro. Longtime resident Bob Moffat called Enchanté the “cherry on the sundae” of recent downtown development.
“I want to be able to sit down and have a glass of wine and have a meal there,” he said. “And I look forward to it being a very successful enterprise.”
