A proposed hotel in downtown Petaluma that stoked loud opposition and inspired a local voter referendum to overturn a key city approval is moving forward with a more modest design.
Petaluma’s historic and cultural preservation committee late Tuesday unanimously approved EKN Hotel’s new design as a four-story hotel with 56 rooms and valet parking instead of the original six-story design with 93 rooms and subterranean garage.
Ebbie Nakhjavani, founder and chief executive officer of EKN Development, a Newport Beach firm, acknowledged there had been “quite a lot of emotion and opinions” about the project’s original scale, architectural style and height. His company changed the design in what he called a “strong compromise.”…