Oct. 02–Hoping to quell concerns that their project might change the town's character and increase traffic, owners of the Best Western Corte Madera Inn this week presented a set of revamped plans.

Residents got a preview of the revised project Wednesday night at a public meeting in which Garrett Grialou, president of Reneson Hotels, which owns the property, offered a side-by-side comparison of the proposal and other Bay Area hotels, including a match-up to the controversial 180-unit Tam Ridge Residences.

"The WinCup development is about three times as dense of what we are proposing here," he said of the apartment complex on Tamal Vista Boulevard. "If we really want to maintain this as a competitive asset in Corte Madera, we really do need to rebuild it."

Owners plan a U-shaped building with shingle-style architecture and two to three stories tall on the 5.5-acre site. There would be a floor-area ratio of 0.55, up from the existing 0.34. Residents had raised concerns about the floor-area ratio in previous meetings.

The latest design includes 185 rooms, up from the existing 110.

It would be dual-branded, so SpringHill Suites by Marriott would have 78 traditional hotel rooms while Residence Inn would provide the remaining 107 rooms as extended-stay accommodations.

As part of the proposal, the pond on the eastern edge of the property and the restaurant space, which is leased by the Best Lil' Porkhouse, would be eliminated to make way for more rooms. Grialou said Reneson Hotels is willing to create a wetlands area at another site to mitigate the loss of the small 0.65-acre kidney-shaped pond on the property, known as Edgewater Lagoon.

The size of the project and the potential environmental impact prompted town officials to launch a full environmental review. The town has produced various reports suggesting possible solutions to offset any negative environmental impacts of construction.

While residents at the Wednesday meeting didn't seem concerned about the pond — which the Marin Audubon Society has wanted to preserve — a few questioned the size of the project.

"I'm concerned about having green-building standards, traffic and the three stories," Corte Madera resident Mary Connolly said. "I would prefer two."

Connolly suggested Grialou and his team make three-dimensional models to show the building in the context of the surrounding areas.

Resident Jeanne Asdourian said she would like to see a scale model.

"When they use the computer renderings, a click here or a click there easily changes things," she said. "If they put the extra funding in for the model it's more difficult to change, and it's easier for people to see the size and scale."

Resident Lucy Marquart said she enjoyed the presentation.

"I think they did a very good job," she said. "I am supportive of the project."

The project is tentatively scheduled to be presented at a November Planning Commission meeting.