Astoria has shot down a hotel project planned for the waterfront.

Amid concerns about the size and appearance of the building, the Design Review Committee and the Historic Landmarks Commission voted Monday night to tentatively deny an application for the proposed Astoria Fairfield Inn and Suites.

The four-story, 66-room hotel would have been built across from the Astoria Riverwalk at the base of Second Street off Marine Drive and near a historic boiler from the former White Star Cannery. Developers planned to incorporate The Ship Inn, a former restaurant and lounge, using the building as a lobby and dining area for the hotel.

The public hearings have closed. Hollander Hospitality, the developer behind the hotel project, and the architecture firm that designed the Fairfield will not get a second chance to provide new information or change their proposal. Following meetings in July where city staff will present findings of fact to reflect the boards’ denials, they will be able to appeal the boards’ decisions or submit a new proposal and go through the whole process again.

City staff reports provided to both boards were neutral and did not recommend either approval or denial. However, the reports did outline questions, concerns and issues staff said needed to be addressed.

Sam Mullen, a representative from Hollander Hospitality, said he doesn’t know what steps the company will take next, but will have a better sense by the July meetings.

“It’s tough to say, but my gut says we’ll start looking at other plans,” Mullen said. He believes there is flexibility to change the way the proposed hotel looks. On Monday, critics called the hotel generic and ugly, a box and, more specifically, a cigar box.

“This was pretty far down a path,” he said of the applications under review Monday. But the project received valuable feedback, he added.

The Design Review Committee meeting was standing room only and 16 people testified against the project, none testified in favor of it.

The committee voted 4-1 to deny the hotel application. They said they were not against a hotel at the location — hotels are permitted outright in the zoning that exists in the area — but they worried about blocked views, how the new building mashed up with the old Ship Inn, and issues such as parking and housing for employees. People who testified against the project echoed these same concerns.

Views of the Columbia River aren’t just for tourists, said Sarah Jane Bardy, who serves on the committee.

“When you build on the river you build in the front yard of every home on the hill,” she said. A smaller building could be a better fit, she added.

She noted that stepbacks the developers employed to be allowed to build a taller building within the Bridge Vista overlay the city established to guide development in the area — literally stepping back portions of the building to open up views and avoid a flat appearance — were misleading and didn’t actually step back.

“I think you can do better and I think we deserve better,” Bardy said.

She also criticized how Stephanie’s Cabin, a former restaurant on neighboring property also purchased by Hollander Hospitality, has fallen into disarray. A chain link fence surrounds the building and weeds have grown up on the grounds.

“It looks abandoned because it is abandoned,” Bardy said.

After the meeting, Mullen said the company hoped to open a brewery at the former restaurant and had reached out to local brewers. No one is committed to the space yet.

The Historic Landmarks Commission voted unanimously to deny the hotel’s application, saying the building is too large for the location and that the design doesn’t fit with either the Ship Inn or historic buildings developers referenced in their application.

Several commissioners noted that once a structure like the hotel goes in, it could open up the riverfront to similar development. Already, large hotels are present at the far west and east ends of Astoria, they said.

Craig Riegelnegg with Carleton Hart Architecture, the firm designing the hotel for Hollander Hospitality, said they looked at other buildings in Astoria, including historic waterfront structures, when designing the hotel. But both city boards and critics said they couldn’t see how historic elements and Astoria architecture were reflected in the final design.

“This building could be located anywhere,” said Loretta Maxwell, owner of the Grandview Bed & Breakfast.