Owners Eye Converting Salina Motel 6 into 66-Unit Apartment Complex

The reason behind the requested rezoning of the Motel 6 property at 635 West Diamond Drive is a plan by the property owner to eventually convert the existing motel into a residential apartment complex, staff told the Salina Planning Commission.

According to the staff presentation, the owner intends to submit a Conditional Use Permit application to create a residential complex with 48 studio units and 18 one-bedroom units, for a total of 66 units. Multi-family residential dwellings are not permitted in the current C7 Highway Commercial district and are allowed only as a conditional use in the C5 Service Commercial district, which would require a separate application, a separate public hearing, and Planning Commission approval.

Staff emphasized that the rezoning is only the first step and does not by itself authorize the apartment conversion. Impacts specific to the proposed multi-family conversion — including parking, occupancy, traffic, and effects on schools, fire, and police protection — would be evaluated through the future conditional use permit application.

Staff noted that under C5 standards, converting an existing non-residential building to multi-family use must meet R3 lot size requirements. For the proposed 66-unit use, that would require a minimum lot area of about 66,000 square feet; the property measures 172,542 square feet, exceeding that standard.

Several commissioners questioned the approach. One commissioner noted the rezoning was "almost banking on a conditional use later down the line," describing it as the owners "putting all of their eggs in the basket that perhaps down the line this could happen." Staff and the applicant's attorney explained that because surrounding zoning is C5, C7, or industrial, requesting C5 was the option that would avoid creating spot zoning while still permitting the eventual conditional use.