Goleta Approves New Rincon Palms Hotel

The Goleta City Council unanimously approved the Rincon Palms Hotel on 11/5, putting a near end (there could be some minor tweaks by the Design Review Board) to the developers’ years-long and multiple-iterations process. The approved hotel — with 138 rooms, 180 parking spots, and a rooftop deck — is shorter and has less square footage than previous incarnations, changes the developers made to appease opponents’ concerns about obstructed mountain views and increased traffic. The project is expected to provide the city with $700,000 a year in transient occupancy tax revenue.