A proposed hotel on the site of the notorious “Chainsaw Massacre” won preliminary approval from the Flagstaff Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday night.

But it will need to reappear before the panel again prior to receiving its building permits.

The 164-room Courtyard Marriott next goes to the city council for final rezoning approval.

Concerns over the roofline and revegetation of the denuded limestone hillside dominated the discussion, prompting commissioners to attach a long list of conditions to the rezoning, which was approved, 5-2.

Included in those conditions were instructions to the applicant to return early next year for final approval of a redesigned plan with replanted trees and a building height that could go as tall as three stories, as sought by the developer.

Arizona Daily Sun