AN EXCLUSIVE negotiating agreement for the development of a new four-story hotel was approved by the Garden Grove City Council on Tuesday night (Shutterstock).

A first major step to adding yet another hotel to the Harbor Corridor array of hospitality was taken Tuesday night when the Garden Grove City Council approved an agreement with a developer interested in building a four-story hotel there.

The council voted 7-0 in favor of an exclusive negotiating agreement with SoCal Hotel, LLC for the development of the hotel on a site near the northwest corner of Chapman Avenue and Harbor.

SoCal Hotel, LLC, is proposing to construct an “upper upscale” hotel on a three-acre site of landfill property owned by the Garden Grove Sanitary District, a division of the city.

The proposal calls for a AAA Three Diamond nationally-branded hotel with about 225 guest rooms, served by surface parking. It would be built directly to the west of the Embassy Suites hotel.

The ENA period would run through Dec. 31. Potentially, the next step would be a development agreement. The city manager would have the discretion to extend the agreement by six months if he feels that sufficient progress is being made.

Also on Tuesday night, the council heard a presentation on the city’s expanded code enforcement efforts and approved replacement of the gymnasium floor at the Garden Grove Sports and  Recreation Center in Garden Grove Park.

The next meeting of the council will be on Tuesday, March 12.