As many of you may or may not know, right across from our lovely family-friendly neighborhood, on Chambers Road, there is an Extended Stay Hotel in the process of getting approval from the Town of Parker to be built. We (along with several others in the neighborhood) are strongly opposed to such a development taking place. Crime will rise, traffic will become unbearable, and our house prices will plummet. My husband and I took the initial step to take on ‘the man’ by submitting the attached letter to the town of Parker for review (noting, however, that neither of us are Colorado zoning attorneys so certainly possible we missed some critical arguments!) We need your help. Please review the attached letter that was sent and send supplemental letters to the Town with any additional observations or arguments, whether legal or otherwise, as to why this development shouldn’t move forward. In addition, if you agree with us that such a development is not in our interests and oppose such, we ask you sign this petition!

Further, the two planning coordinators in charge of this project are listed below:

Bryce Matthews- Assistant Director of Planning; 303.805.3174; bmatthews@parkerco.gov

Cynthia Thye- Planner I; 303.805.3334; cthye@parkerco.gov

I believe one avenue of success will be to request a meeting with these planners. The process the Extended Stay has used, provided the process is not changed from the letter, does not allow for public comment or council approval, which we contend is wrong, notwithstanding a multitude of other reasons why this development should not continue forward. Therefore, I would suggest signing this petition, writing, and calling these Planners to express your concern and request a formal meeting. I suggest asking for your comments to be made a public record/placed on the etrak system.

This is just the first step towards stopping the development that will jeopardize our safety, home values, and the nature of the area. Please include your contact information on the signed petition, or you can contact me directly to stay updated on the results of our submission and further steps that need to be taken. We also welcome anyone to contact an attorney and get additional feedback on ways to stop the development and share with the community

 

Letter sent to the Town of Parker:

This letter is to provide feedback urging the Town of Parker Planning Department not to grant the requested zoning for the Echo Suites hotel requested by the Applicant, Gulf Coast Hotel Development Parker, LLC (“Developer”) at Chambers Road and Cottonwood Drive (the “Facility”). The undersigned residents of Dove Village have the following observations that should be considered in denying zoning and construction thereof to the Facility. 

1.       The Requested Variance Should be Denied Under the Parker Land Development Ordinance

The Land Development Ordinance (“LDO”) for the City of Parker requires the following criteria must be shown by Gulf Coast in order for the City of Parker to grant a variance:

1.       The strict application of the standards would produce peculiar and exceptional practical difficulties to, or exceptional hardships upon, the owner of such property. See Parker Code Section 13.03.040(x)(2)(c) which describes specific procedures for a variance; 

2.       Such hardship results from exceptional narrowness, shallowness, or shape of a specific piece of property or by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, or shape of a specific piece of property or by reason of exceptional topographic conditions or other extraordinary and exception situation or condition of such piece of property;

3.       Such hardship is unique to the property and not shared by other properties in the same zoning district and vicinity;

4.       The authorization of such variance will not result in substantial detriment to adjacent property or the public good, materially change character of the district or substantially impair the intent and purpose of this LDO;

5.       The granting of such Variance is based upon reasons of demonstrable and exceptional hardship as distinguished from variations for purposes of convenience or profit; and

6.       The need for the Variance is not a self-created hardship. 

Developer cannot meet the requirements of (at least) two of the six requirements to be granted a variance. In specific, the Developer cannot show that the variance is not a self-created hardship and the Developer is unable to demonstrate that the authorization of the variance will not result in substantial detriment to adjacent property or the public good, materially change character of the district or substantially impair the intent and purpose of this LDO. These elements are taken in reverse order. 

Substantial Detriment to the Public Good and Material Change to Character of the District

Studies on extended hotels paint a complex picture of the change in character brought to communities by extended stay hotels, a feature that is unique to extended stay hotels offering stays in excess of a month. All Echo Suites hotels offer stays exceeding 1 month noting on their website “whether you plan on staying two weeks or two months, you’ll save big with our discounted extended-stay rates.[1]”

·         A study performed by the Shaumburg, Illinois Police Department found that extended stay hotels generally had higher call volumes than other hotel types. Specifically, they noted a “particularly high increase in domestic violence calls” as people used the hotel for long-term housing rather than as a primary residence.[2] 

·         Long-term hotels can become hotspots for nuisance activity as well as serious crimes like robbery and sexual assault. The Center for Problem Oriented Policing notes that because budget hotels offer low rates, accept cash, and may have unrestricted environments, they can attract illicit activities such as drug sales and prostitution, which are riskier in conduct to private residents.[3] 

·         Studies indicate that poorly managed hotels enable crime by attracting offenders to locations with weak oversight. A study performed in Chula Vista, California found that 21% of guests at problematic hotels were on probation or parole, compared to less than 2% of the general population.[4] 

·         A 2026 report from Georgia State University found that extended stay hotels used in Dekalb County were serving as a shelter for over 4,600 people, including 1,635 children, with 16% of residents living in the hotel for more than 5 years and another 45% for one to five years, indicating they function as long-term housing rather than temporary lodging. Residents in these settings were found to face instability and health risks with approximately 22% of respondents reporting crime, violence, or unsafe conditions.[5] 

·         Long-term stay hotels can inhibit nearby economic redevelopment and reduce the availability of safe lodging for genuine travelers. Transient long-term housing can erode a neighborhood’s social organization, the ability of residents to know and trust each other and enforce social norms, which can eventually lead to higher violence rates and can reduce nearby property values due to the associated crime. The facility is immediately across the street from residential homes that will be forced to sell at a loss or face increased crime and vagrancy. Further, the proposed use being right down the street from an assisted living center is unsafe for its residents as well. Further, the city of Denver has used extended stay hotels to reduce homelessness, which would be an extremely detrimental but potentially viable use of the facility for the adjacent homeowners, in addition to the problems created inherently in this type of facility. 

Accordingly, the Facility will substantially change the character of the district and be extremely detrimental to those living in the vicinity. A variance cannot be granted due to the material change in the character of the district. Parker has done an excellent job to date maintaining the character of this community and the granting of the variance to the Developer will substantially undermine the character and quality of life of the nearby residents. The extended stay nature of the hotel specifically will not serve these residents interest and will not house Parker residents. Furthermore, the location and size of the building as 4 stories will substantially impair the views of the residents of Dove Village in a manner inconsistent with the Parker Master Plan (discussed in further detail below). 

Hardship

The Developer cannot show that the need for a variance is not a self-created hardship. The word hardship is defined as it relates to a condition of property or the required showing under Section 13.03.040(x), Variance means exceptional narrowness, shallowness, shape, topographic condition or other extraordinary and exceptional situation or condition of a piece of property that create exceptional or practical difficulties to the property owner’s use or development of the property and that are not generally shared by property in the surrounding area, and that is not a self-created hardship. A self-created hardship means a condition related to the property that would otherwise meet the definition of a hardship, but for was created by the actions of the property owner prior to applying for a Variance or other form of relief under this LDO. The purchase of a lot, parcel or tract that does not conform to the requirements of this LDO for the zoning district in which it is located is not, by itself, a self-created hardship provided the property owner does not take additional actions following the purchase that compound the difficulty or use or development of the property or increase the degree of non-conformity. 

While the purchase of the lot itself cannot be considered a self-imposed hardship, the purchase of the lot with explicit knowledge that the Echo Suites design would not work on the property without a variance is a self-imposed hardship as either a) the lot was purchased without the specific hotel in mind and accordingly, the hotel design plans were created post-purchase in a manner that requires the variance, or b) the lot was purchased with the specific design plans in mind knowing it would require a variance. In either event, the hardship is self-created. 

Accordingly, even if the requested variance meets the undue hardship standard, a variance cannot be granted due to the material change of character of the district. 

2.       The Facility is Not an Allowable Use under Section 13.05.010 of the LDO

Section 13.05.010 provides a table of ‘allowed uses’ and indicators as to when a ‘use’ is permitted by right in the respective zoning district, when the ‘use’ requires special review, or when such ‘use’ is strictly prohibited. “Dwelling, Multifamily” is governed by 13.05.030(c)(3) and a lodging facility is governed by 13.05.030(e)(22). Mixed use Regional zoning (MR) which is the applicable zoning district for the E-470 corridor, has specific requirements under the statute and regulations. For multifamily housing in the MR, the designation for use requires a special review pursuant to Section 13.03.040(s), 13.03.040(t), 13.03.040(u), and 13.03.040(w). Lodging facilities, on the other hand, allow hotels to be a use permit by right. These features are not unique to the MR zoning and apply throughout various zoning districts in the City of Parker. The term “lodging facility” is defined as for profit facilities where shelter, meals, and the like are provided to transient visitors and guests for a defined period not to exceed 30 days. As noted above, Echo Suites website provides that stays can extend for months. Accordingly, the hotel designation or lodging facility designation is inappropriate for Echo Suites, as the rules governing Lodging Facilities requires that stays be under 30 days. Accordingly, the only other designation is Dwelling, Multifamily. The term Dwelling, Multifamily means a building, or portion of a building, designed for or occupied by three or more families living independently of each other, such as apartment or condominium buildings, and includes facilities that offer supportive services but that are not required to be licensed by the Colorado state department of public health. This use does not include hotels or motels. One of two things may be true here. Either the facility is not qualified for any allowable use under the LDO because it is in fact a hotel (but doesn’t meet the statutory definition required due to the 30+ day stay offering) or it is a multi-family dwelling. Nonetheless, if Multi-family dwelling definition intended to mean “hotel” within the statutory sense, the LDO would have used the term “lodging facility.” Accordingly, the term hotel in the definition of Multi-family housing makes this use inapplicable as well and must be thought of in its common parlance. Accordingly, there is no allowable use code for the requested zoning and zoning must be denied.  

3.       If Not a Permitted Use, The Qualification for a Special Review are Not Met

If nonetheless Dwelling, Multifamily were a permitted zoning for the Facility, it would require special review under Section 13.04.040(s) of the LDO.  The City of Parker Master Plan, updated as of October 17, 2022 provides that dwellings in the MR district must be “of a scale that serve the needs of the area residents or provide support to adjoining uses.” While a lodging facility could be of utility to local area residents where it was of a character and type that did not attract the problems of an extended stay hotel (i.e., by being available to family of local residents visiting town), this hotel does further the City of Parker Master Plan and does not legally constitute a lodging facility and instead is at best a dwelling, multifamily, and worse, not a permitted use at all. 

Because a special review is required, the Developer must show the following under Section 13.03.040(s):

1.       The proposed use will be in harmony and compatible with the character of the surrounding areas and neighborhoods;

2.       The proposed use is consistent with the Master Plan;

3.       The applicant can demonstrate the proposed site is sufficient in size and shape to support the proposed use;

4.       The proposed use does not require significant capital improvements that the town has not included in its capital improvement program;

5.       The proposed use does not require community facilities and levels of community services greater than those available from the Town or applicable service providers;

6.       Adequate pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular access and circulation routes exist to serve the proposed development, and traffic movement in the surrounding area would not cause undue multi-modal traffic impacts by development, or demonstrates the mitigation of circulation impacts to the maximum extent practicable;

7.       The proposed use will not create material environmental impacts on the surrounding area or the Town as a whole, or demonstrates the mitigation of environmental impacts to the maximum extent possible;

8.       The proposed use will be adequately landscaped, buffered and screened to mitigate impacts; and 

9.       The proposed use will not otherwise be detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the present or future inhabitants of the town. 

The proposed use is not (i) in fact in harmony or compatible with the character and nature of the surrounding areas and neighborhoods, (ii) is not consistent with the master plan, (iii) the proposed use will not provide for adequate vehicular access to the road, and (iv) the proposed use will be detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of present and future inhabitants. 

With respect to (i) and (iv), the Proposed Use as an Extended Stay Facility is not in harmony or compatible with the character of the surrounding areas and neighborhoods and it is detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of present and future inhabitants as it a) does not serve them or their families for stay when visiting due to the nature of the potential long-term stay guests at the Facility and associated crime, b) the associated crime will in fact decrease the population of the surrounding area with residents forced to sell their homes at a significant loss, and c) will require a more significant policing presence to deal with the likely increase in vagrancy, crime, and lack of social cohesion caused by the proposed use. In addition to housing, there are daycares, assisted living homes, and an elementary school nearby that will also be effected by the adverse impacts of extended stay hotels. 

The City of Parker, in particular this part of Parker, is in the top-10 most moved to area code in the country for 2025.[6] This is not an accident, and is in fact a result of the careful and meticulous planning that the City of Parker has done pursuant to its Master Plan to make this a great place to live, work, and raise children. The addition of an extended stay hotel, including the potential of such hotel to house homeless from Denver, is detrimental to the character of the community that the City has worked so hard to maintain. See https://coloradosun.com/2025/10/13/homelessness-denver-hotel-shelters/  Look no further than the story of the American Motel in Wheat Ridge, which was ultimately torn down due to the crime that this extended hotel brought to the city of Wheat Ridge, causing them to pass a special ordinance limiting or prohibiting extended stay hotels in the city. https://www.denverpost.com/2025/09/21/wheat-ridge-american-motel-demolition/ and https://www.denver7.com/news/front-range/wheat-ridge/american-motel-to-be-demolished-for-new-apartment-complex-in-wheat-ridge In that case, the City of Wheat Ridge learned its lesson the hard way finding that extended stay properties were not functioning as hotels, but as substandard housing of last resort, lacking tenant protections and safety standards of apartment complexes. Wheat Ridge responded by passing an ordinance that required extended stay operators to participate in crime-free programs, meet minimum amenity standards, and limit lengths of stay. The result was ultimately the demolition of the hotel. We must not repeat these mistakes or negate the hardwork of the City of Parker in creating a family friendly city with ample amenities, safety, and top-rated schools for which this Facility will certainly detrimentally impact this work. 

With respect to (ii), it is not consistent with the Parker Master Plan which provides that “the look and feel of Parker’s built and natural environments was an area of concentration as participants discussed specific master plan goals and strategies.” Further it states that one of the primary goals and strategies is "When reviewing development proposals adjacent to or within existing neighborhoods, ensure that the development demonstrates compatibility with, and sensitivity to, existing neighborhood characteristics in terms of housing, quality, density, building height, placement, scale, and architectural character.” The four-story nature of this building outside a residential neighborhood facing the mountains removes the character of the neighborhood for which residents moved in which includes a view of the mountains and the safety of the neighborhood that residents relied on when moving in. Specifically, the residents assumed that the City of Parker would fulfill the goals outlined in the Master Plan. While the area does allow hotels in mixed use districts, this development specifically does not meet the definition of a hotel in the LDO and for good reason, the 30 day limitation on stays is specifically designed to differentiate between a facility that provides long-term housing from a facility that provides for single night stays, due to the nature and character brought by a development that allows longer-term stays being inconsistent with the goals and character of Parker. 

With respect to (iii), the Developer was intentionally misleading in their characterization of the traffic in the traffic study. The Developer in its submissions recharacterized the Facility from a standard Hotel (ITE Code 310) to a Business Hotel (ITE Code 312) in the traffic conformance letter, drastically understating the traffic impact. The Developer claims that because the Facility does not have significant amenities, it shouldn’t be classified as a standard Hotel. This is a dubious claim and granting the zoning application on this basis would be arbitrary and capricious. While there may not be a restaurant, Echo Suites offer a cafeteria for buying food for kitchens, a gym center, a business center, and laundry facilities. Further, the operational characteristics of extended-stay hotels differ significantly from business hotels. Extended-stay guests may have jobs in downtown Denver or nearby cities (Extended Stay guests often use these facilities as long-term housing rather than passing through for a single night), with traffic behavior more similar to that of a multifamily housing unit. These demographics often have different travel patterns. For example, construction crews may leave very early in the morning and return in the late afternoon, creating intense peak-hour spikes that a "Business Hotel" average might smooth out. Furthermore, extended-stay units with kitchens may generate trips for grocery shopping that transient business travelers do not. The reclassification, which has rightly been questioned by the city, artificially suppresses the projected trip generation by nearly 40 percent, significantly understating the traffic impact. This was presumably done because the Developer knew that reporting the higher traffic would not permit the variance or be a permitted use. By undercounting traffic, the Developer may trigger the need for unexpected capital improvements such as an expansion to Chambers Road to turn at the private drive access. 

Given the above, we would appreciate the opportunity to meet with your staff or comment at a public meeting in the event that the zoning moves forward notwithstanding the above. A public hearing may be appropriate here considering the zoning would require special review and sign off from the City of Parker council. There are several other deficiencies that have been identified by this group that may be raised at a later stage in a public hearing if the City of Parker chooses to move forward with the Facility. 

 

Best Regards,

The Undersigned Residents of The Local Area

 

 
[1] https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/echo-suites
[2] https://schaumburg.novusagenda.com/AgendaPublic/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=15974&MeetingID=2541
[3] https://popcenter.asu.edu/content/disorder-budget-motels-0​ https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/g/files/litvpz3631/files/library/awards/goldstein/2003/03-26(W).pdf
[4] https://popcenter.asu.edu/sites/g/files/litvpz3631/files/library/awards/goldstein/2009/09-47(W).pdf
[5] https://news.gsu.edu/2026/01/07/a-hidden-housing-crisis-gsu-researchers-document-families-living-in-extended-stay-hotels/
[6] https://kdvr.com/news/local/this-colorado-zip-code-is-one-of-the-most-moved-to-in-the-us-study/