A protest against progress sends a Carmel hotel’s transformation to council.

In 1957, Donna and Fred Hofsas built a quaint, four-story Bavarian-themed hotel in Carmel. Donna commissioned an artist friend, Maxine Albro, to paint a welcome mural, and Fred created a coat of arms, with the Latin words “Otium Cum Dignitate,” or “Leisure with Dignity.” It’s been family-run, with the Hofsas’ granddaughter, Carrie Theis, a former Carmel City councilmember, acting as general manager of the 38-room hotel since 2000.

After 67 years the inn is showing its age and with travelers demanding more modern conveniences, the family made the decision to tear down Donna and Fred’s creation and build a modern structure they named the Carmel Legacy Hotel. Architect Eric Miller described the design to the Carmel Planning Commission as inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Clinton Walker House on Carmel Point, as well as Craftsman designs.

Theis spent the last year sharing the plans around town and gaining acceptance from a village that doesn’t easily embrace change. Her work paid off: At a Planning Commission meeting on April 10, a line of business owners and residents praised the Theis family and urged approval. The vote was 4-0 (with conditions), to a round of applause. (Vice Chair Stephanie Locke recused herself for owning property within 500 feet.)

Only resident Neal Kruse, of the Carmel Preservation Association, was resolute in his disapproval of the proposed design. “We do not want progress. We do not want the most modern-looking hotels, and that is why we’re still the place that everybody wants to come to,” Kruse said.

Two weeks later Kruse filed an appeal to the Carmel City Council on behalf of the CPA based on what he said was the failure of the commission to adequately assess the hotel’s potential environmental impacts. The hotel was considered exempt from creating an environmental impact report as an infill project, but Kruse argued that “unusual circumstances” made the exemption inappropriate, because the hotel is surrounded by residences which will be subject to construction noise and traffic and air quality impacts, including asbestos.

Kruse also argued that the “historic facade of the building will be lost unnecessarily. One more piece of Carmel’s history obliterated,” he wrote. According to a staff report, the hotel buildings were evaluated last year for historical significance. The Historic Resources Board ruled they were ineligible as historic resources in December. The decision was not appealed.

The City Council is scheduled to hear the appeal at 4:30pm on Tuesday, July 9.