The prickly civic discourse directed by Al Rajabi toward Hot Springs city hall concerning his newly purchased Arlington Hotel isn’t a first. Four years ago, Rajabi threatened to walk away from plans for a hotel in downtown Bandera, Texas, if he didn’t get his way on a sign variance request.
“We’re a small town of 850 people, and he wanted to put a big, digital sign right in the middle of our historic district,” said Suzanne Schauman, mayor of Bandera, an hour northwest of San Antonio. “We’re proud of our little town and its image.”
Rajabi’s aggressive carrot-or-stick proposal proved controversial in Bandera, billed as the “Cowboy Capital of the World” and home to The Frontier Times Museum.
During a public hearing covered by The Bandera Bulletin, Rajabi demanded approval of his digital billboard, described as a 10-by-20 LED sign sporting messages that change every eight seconds. The size of the sign was beyond the parameters of city ordinance, and reducing the planned height from 34 feet to 25 feet didn’t work either.
“Approve the design tonight or find another developer,” said Rajabi, pointing to his award-winning resume of hotel developing. “This is the business you’ve lost.”
He went on to add: “I’m not asking for a special favor. I’m willing to make a $5 million investment in this town. The next meeting I attend will be to discuss the hotel. If the sign is not approved, we’ll leave town for good.”
The proposal was rejected in a 4-2 vote, despite concerns that a vote against the sign amounted to a vote against the hotel.
Schauman reports that construction is set to begin in November on a three-story hotel project with commercial ground floor space and 46 rooms on the upper floors.
“We’re getting that hotel he tried to hold over our heads,” she said.
According to her, Rajabi left the ownership picture after he was bought out by his partner, Gene Liguori, who is seeing the Main Street development through — sans digital billboard.
The Bandera City Council is supporting the new hotel with a $1 million bond issue to be repaid with a “bed tax” collected at the new project.
Other incentives include a 10-year municipal property tax abatement that adds 10 percent of the full value annually after the first year and a $225,000 Community Development Block Grant for utility work and parking construction.
Sign up for Daily E-news
