Renaissance Petaluma Advocacy
Catalyst Project: Appellation Petaluma
A project that benefits our entire community
The proposed Appellation Petaluma Hotel represents the kind of thoughtful investment our coalition supports—a project that could generate significant economic benefits while respecting Petaluma's historic character and meeting rigorous community standards.
◼︎ Click here to join Renaissance Petaluma and and help shape Petaluma's future.
◼︎ Click here to join Renaissance Petaluma and and help shape Petaluma's future.
About the Hotel
The Appellation Hotel is a six-story, approximately 82-room experiential boutique hotel proposed by EKN Development Group and the Sonoma County-based culinary-first Appellation brand. It will feature ground-floor food service, below-grade parking (approximately 58 vehicles), and a rooftop bar and event space for Hotel guests and locals. The Hotel is designed around food, not just a place to stay. It integrates food-focused programming and amenities throughout its design.
The hotel will invite guests and locals to experience Petaluma not just by seeing, but by doing. The hotel will support a trusted collective of local experts and artisans to lead guests and locals through hands-on classes and workshops, where they will craft beautiful pieces, savor what is in season, learn new skills, and form new connections.
This culinary vision comes from our own local James Beard and Michelin Star award–winning Charlie Palmer, who plays a central role in shaping the experience—not just leading the hotel's restaurant, but influencing programming and public space design. Appellation Petaluma Hotel will feature the only rooftop bar in Petaluma, offering sweeping views of the river and rolling hills. It’s designed as a local gathering spot—a rarity in downtown Petaluma.
Hotel will pull heavily from Petaluma’s artistic and agricultural traditions, investing over $500,000 in commissioned art from local creators. Ongoing programming like “Crafted at Appellation” engages guests and locals alike in immersive culinary and artisan experiences—bridging hospitality with community.
While the final design of the Appellation Petaluma Hotel awaits submission, review, and approval by the City of Petaluma, the preliminary design meshes with historic district proportions. The hotel features recessed windows, storefront patterns, and stepped-back upper stories, that echo Petaluma’s traditional architecture. Its emphasis will not be formality or extravagance, but creating spaces grounded in authentic local context, connection, and comfort. The Hotel's facade and interior finishing materials will be made of high quality, enduring materials that will integrate the building into the downtown 's classical buildings while distinguishing it as a building of today — a bold contribution to Petaluma's historical thread by the 2025 generation.
The Appellation Petaluma Hotel embodies what Renaissance Petaluma stands for: authentic growth that honors history. Its design, local partnerships, and focus on craftsmanship all draw from the city’s creative and agricultural roots. The project reflects a shared belief that Petaluma’s future can—and should—stay true to its character while embracing new opportunities.
Altogether, the project promises to turn a once-empty space into a long-term source of employment, investment, and vitality for Petaluma’s downtown.
Key Hotel Elements
Approximately 82 guest rooms in Petaluma's Theatre District with downtown and river views
Street front restaurant and rooftop bar featuring Charlie Palmer’s signature progressive American cuisine while showcasing local ingredients
Rooftop and courtyard event space for gatherings, celebrations, and community functions
Flexible hospitality suites capable of hosting multiple simultaneous events
Scenic courtyard where downtown energy meets wine country flair
Significant investment in local artwork showcasing Petaluma's creative community
Proximity to the Riverwalk integrating the hotel into Petaluma's pedestrian experience
Design meeting rigorous historic preservation standards for the Theatre District
Key Citizen Questions
Want better city government services and amenities?
Want more available jobs?
Want fewer empty and non-productive lots downtown?
Want downtown businesses to thrive instead of just survive?
Want a more sustainable city where your children can raise their children?
Want fewer vacant storefronts downtown?
Want more opportunities for locals to connect, engage with each other, and learn?
If your answer is “yes” to any of these questions, see how the Zoning Overlay and the Appellation Petaluma Hotel will help generate positive answers at no expense to you.
In the following sections, Renaissance Petaluma explores four key areas of positive impact the Overlay and Appellation Petaluma Hotel will have on the City of Petaluma — (1) Fiscal Impacts, (2) Employment Impacts, (3) Impacts on the Built Environment, and (4) Social & Cultural Impacts.
Economic Impacts
The Appellation Hotel project is expected to give Petaluma’s downtown economy a major boost by turning a long-vacant lot into a lively destination that creates jobs, brings in visitors, and generates steady tax revenue for the city. Supporters, including Mayor Kevin McDonnell, say the project will not only offer new opportunities in construction and hospitality but also strengthen nearby shops, restaurants, and other small businesses.
Once the hotel opens, its impact will continue. It is projected to bring in approximately $1 million every year in Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), which the city keeps entirely to fund local services and infrastructure. The hotel’s operations are expected to generate $18.6 million in yearly economic activity.
Over 25 years, the city could collect an estimated $37.1 million in hotel tax, $3.5 million in sales tax, and $24.9 million in property tax. Economists predict that this activity could spur 2% growth across 15 local industries, especially in dining and retail. The city will also see a temporary rise in sales tax revenue from construction purchases.
Employment Impacts
The Appellation Petaluma Hotel will create meaningful local employment — not only during construction, but for years to come.
Construction Phase: More than ~328 jobs are expected across building, design, engineering, and specialized trades. Much of this work will be performed by local contractors and Sonoma County suppliers, keeping project spending circulating within the regional economy.
Ongoing Operations: Once open, the hotel is projected to sustain over 150 permanent jobs in hospitality, culinary, management, and maintenance — with a strong emphasis on hiring locally.
Broader Economic Ripple: Modeling suggests that, when combined with the surrounding zoning overlay, the project could help generate up to 328 total jobs and $55 million in local economic activity, bolstering nearby restaurants, shops, and service providers.
Beyond numbers, these positions represent opportunities for local residents — from craftspeople and designers to chefs, service staff, and managers — contributing to a stronger, more diversified local economy.
Impacts on the Built Environment
Appellation Petaluma Hotel (2025)
Perceived Height: 45 Feet
The Appellation Petaluma Hotel will be built at the corner of Petaluma Boulevard South and B Street, on a lot that has been empty, weed overgrown, and chained-link-fenced for decades. The Hotel will partially lie within the Petaluma Historic Commercial District. Since the lot is empty, the Hotel will not replace anything of historical value.
The building will stand around 69–72 feet tall (six stories) and has been designed with the upper two stories recessed back a total of 25 feet from the Petaluma Boulevard and about 30 feet from the B Street sidewalk producing a perceived height from the sidewalk of 45 feet—8 feet shorter than the perceived height of our historic Hotel Petaluma (also in the Petaluma Historic Commercial District).
The Appellation Petaluma Hotel will not be the tallest building in Petaluma. The tallest structure in the city is the Dairyman’s Feed & Supply Co., which stands at 153 feet. For context, other notable buildings include the Mutual Relief Building at 63 feet, the Masonic Building at 52 feet (with its clock tower extending to 72 feet), the Odd Fellows Hall at 50 feet, and Amy’s Kitchen at 47 feet.
The architecture for the Appellation Petaluma draws inspiration from Petaluma’s traditional masonry and warehouse forms, using recessed windows, brick-like materials, and varied massing to blend naturally with the surrounding district. Rather than mimic the past, it extends the city’s architectural lineage — a contemporary expression built with respect for proportion, materiality, and craftsmanship.
Claims that the project is “oversized” or “monolithic” often rely on early massing studies — simplified, boxlike renderings used by architects to test volume and setbacks. When viewed without detail, these images can appear stark and misleading. The finished design, with articulated façades, color variation, and recessed planes, will have depth and character consistent with the historic district’s texture.
In short, the Appellation Petaluma Hotel is designed not to dominate its surroundings, but to fit seamlessly within them — adding a thoughtful, enduring contribution to downtown Petaluma’s evolving story.
Hotel Petaluma (1923)
Perceived Height: 53 Feet
Mutual Relief Building (1885)
Perceived Height: 63 Feet
Amys Kitchen, prevously Carithers Department Store (1941)
Perceived Height: 47 Feet
Side Walk Sight Lines: Appellation Petaluma
Perceived Height: 45 Feet Tall
Appellation Hotel Location:
A Decades-Long Empty Lot
Cultural and Social Impacts
The Appellation Petaluma Hotel is designed to celebrate Petaluma’s culture — not change it. Its concept centers on the city’s strongest qualities: creativity, craftsmanship, and connection to community.
The Hotel’s culinary and artisan programs will highlight the region’s makers and producers — from local farms and vineyards to ceramicists, painters, and furniture craftspeople through culinary-focused programming, local workshops and experiences.
By partnering with nearby artisans and sourcing locally, the project directly invests in the people and trades that give Petaluma its character.
Beyond hospitality, the hotel is conceived as a shared space for residents and visitors alike. Public dining, rooftop gatherings, and workshops will offer opportunities for locals to engage, learn, and connect. The design prioritizes openness — blending seamlessly into downtown’s social fabric rather than existing apart from it.
Through art commissions, cultural programming, and ongoing community events, the Appellation Petaluma Hotel will serve as both a showcase and a meeting ground — a place that tells Petaluma’s story to newcomers while deepening it for those who already call this city home.
What Caring People Have Said
Over the past six months, caring citizens have spoken out in the Argus Courier in favor of the Zoning Overlay and the Appellation Petaluma Hotel. Below are links to those voices. We have reproduced the texts here as inaugural posts in our Renaissance Petaluma Blog. We will be using the RP Blog in the coming months to share the voices of other advocates for this cause.
Appellation Petaluma Hotel: An Investment in Our Future
Authors: Elisa Weber, Nancy Leoni, & Naomi Crawford
As business owners and stakeholders in Petaluma’s future, we stand united in support of the Appellation Petaluma Hotel project. This proposal represents a rare opportunity to revitalize a long-blighted downtown property, generate critical new revenue for city services, and strengthen the economic ecosystem that sustains our local businesses, artists, farmers, and producers.
Published: Argus Courier
Date: May 26, 2025
Matt Sharkey:
Letter to the Editor
Author: Matt Sharkey
I would like to applaud and support Petaluma business owners Elisa Weber, Nancy Leoni and Naomi Crawford for their commentary in the July 18th edition of the Argus Courier. In the following breath, say shame on the so-called Petaluma citizens group "Petaluma Historic Advocates" for single-handedly attempting to slow progress in our community.
Published: Argus Courier
Date: TBD
Commentary: Opponents of New Petaluma Hotel Forget the City’s Once Bold Spirit
Authors: Elisa Weber, Nancy Leoni, & Naomi Crawford
Petaluma stands at a crossroads. A recent citizen-initiated ballot referendum in Petaluma that seeks to overturn carefully considered changes approved by our City Council has made it onto the next ballot. The initiative rejects changes that would selectively allow, under rigorous review, the construction of buildings up to six stories tall in certain parts of our historic downtown.
Published: Argus Courier
Date: July 10, 2025
Neglecting Downtown Petaluma is Not
Preserving It
Author: Brian Barnackle
Petaluma City Council. representing District 6.
The referendum to overturn the downtown overlay is not about protecting downtown. It is about a few people who want to block a new hotel from being built on a vacant lot that is covered in weeds and debris, and surrounded by a chain link fence.
Published: Argus Courier
Date: May 12, 2025
Want to take a deeper dive into the facts (and myths) around the Appellation Petaluma Hotel? Head on over to our “Deep Dive” page.