Oxford City Council discussed concerns related to a Marriott hotel proposed for construction near Millett Hall at their Oct. 3 meeting, which had to be moved from the City Hall to the Municipal Building due to power outages across the city.
Heather Barbour, Clerk of Council, said the outage affected over 1000 homes in Oxford.
Community development director Sam Perry said the council’s main worry was the impact on those living near the site of the new Fairfield by Marriott hotel, planned for a parcel at 525 N. Campus Ave. near Millett Hall. Craig Erickson, who lives adjacent to the property, said he had concerns over soil conservation, the size of the hotel compared to his single-story home, and light pollution from both the parking lot and nearby traffic.
“Automobile headlights are brighter than ever,” Erickson said. “They’re extremely blinding, and people living right next to it will be faced with blinding headlights shining into their bedrooms nightly.”
Tim Cameron, who also lives near the development, said that the developers were responsive to his concerns about headlights and the surrounding natural spaces. However he said he “had to take a lot of the initiative in making that contact.”
“I did correspond with them earlier about providing privacy fencing for headlight concerns, and they immediately responded with a new site plan, with [the change] written on the plan,” Cameron said.
City Council has yet to vote on measures to approve construction of the 90-room hotel on the site or to annex the 6.726-acre parcel to become part of the city. Access to city utilities is typically contingent on annexation. The parcel, which was home to Faith Baptist Church of Oxford, was sold for $1.2 million to Oxford Hotel Group, LLC of Indianapolis earlier this year.
Former Faith Baptist Church pastor Joshua Chipchase said the church “eventually disbanded, and the money from the sale of the property was given to a church planting organization.”
Perry said there are not enough hotel rooms in Oxford for large events that draw more than 1,000 attendees. Currently, the city of Oxford has 379 hotel rooms. This new construction would add 90 more, contributing to the city’s lodging tax revenue.
Although most hotels in Oxford struggle on weekdays and throughout the summer, Perry said they’re typically able to make that money back with weekend events like sports and family weekends.
“Apparently there must be enough of a market for them to want to build, even though there’s primarily just the weekend demand,” Perry said, “And if they do well, that would be taxes that benefit the community.”
The council is expected to vote on both ordinances relating to the hotel at their next session.
The council also unanimously approved the appointment of a new finance director, Heidi Hill. Hill said she has worked with Oxford for 29 years and previously served as assistant finance director for 17 years. She worked as the acting director for five months after director Joe Newlin’s death in April and was hired after the council conducted a formal search.
Hill said her main goal is to ensure the city’s finances are all functioning as intended.
“We are still trying to adapt,” Hill said. “We still have some positions to be filled, whether that be internally moving up or hiring externally.”
Council also unanimously approved two ordinances on second reading, one amending the Future Land Use Map of the Oxford Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan, and the other approving a subdivision application and record plat for South Forest Edge Section 1.
Council also approved a resolution to bill residents for unmaintained sidewalks and curbs.
