HomeMy WebLinkAbout54 - PH-4 - PA-17-04 for Conditional Use Permit for - 1/2/2018
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: JANUARY 2, 2018 ITEM NUMBER: PH-4
SUBJECT: PLANNING APPLICATION PA-17-04 FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR THE
CONVERSION OF AN EXISTING INDUSTRIAL BUILDING TO A BANQUET FACILITY,
ON-SITE AND OFF-SITE VALET PARKING, AND A MINOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT
FOR SALE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AFTER 11 PM NOT WITHIN 200 FEET OF
RESIDENTIAL USES AND DEVIATION FROM PARKING REQUIREMENTS WITH OFF-
SITE SHARED PARKING WITH 705, 722, 729, AND 1626 OHMS WAY FOR A
PROPOSED PROJECT AT 1618 OHMS WAY
FROM: PLANNING DIVISION / DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT
PRESENTATION BY: DANIEL INLOES, SENIOR PLANNER
DATE: DECEMBER 6, 2017
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: DANIEL INLOES, AICP (714) 754-5088
daniel.inloes@costamesaca.gov
RECOMMENDATION
The City Council should either uphold, uphold with revisions or reverse the Planning
Commission’s decision to approve a Conditional Use Permit for the renovation of an
existing one-story, 6,461-square-foot industrial building at 1618 Ohms Way to an event
venue (The Harper). The request includes the following:
1. Conditional use permit for:
a) operation of an event center/ banquet facility
b) valet parking at 705, 722, 729, 1626 and 1618 Ohms Way
2. Minor conditional use permit for:
a) sale of alcoholic beverages after 11 PM, not within 200 feet of residential uses
b) shared parking at 705,722, 729 and 1626 Ohms Way
The project was approved by the Planning Commission on November 13, 2017, on a 4-0
vote with Commissioner Navarro Woods absent. A request to review the action of the
Planning Commission was filed November 20, 2017.
AUTHORIZED AGENT / REVIEW REQUESTS
The applicant/authorized agent is Greg McCafferty, Development Advisors, LLC, for the
property owner, Steve Fortunato, Hospitality Collaborative. The appeal to the action of
the Planning Commission was submitted by Bright Guard LLC.
BACKGROUND
Project Site
The project site is located between Pomona Avenue and Ohms Way at the corner of the
two segments of Ohms Way in the Westside area. The project site has a zoning designation
of MG (General Industrial) and a General Plan land use designation of Light Industrial. All
properties directly abutting this site are zoned General Industrial, as well. The Light Industrial
designation is intended to apply to areas which contain a wide range of light and general
industrial activities. The applicant selected this location, which is located away from
residential development, to be sensitive to potential noise impacts which may arise from the
use. This property is not located within 200 feet of a residentially-zoned property or any
residential use.
The project site currently contains a one-story, 6,461-square-foot building with surface
parking. The site was originally constructed as a light industrial building in 1968. Currently,
the building is vacant and the most recent tenant was an automobile sales business.
ANALYSIS
Event Center Use
Event Center or Banquet Hall is not a use listed within in the Zoning Code Land Use
Matrix. Per Zoning Code Section 13-30(d), uses that are not similar to another listed use
are subject to a conditional use permit to ensure compatibility with the surrounding uses
and that the proposed use meets all code requirements. The surrounding uses are
predominantly small light industrial tenants that manufacture, fabricate, and produce a
variety of goods or repair and service automobiles. However, other types of non-industrial
uses have recently been approved within the general vicinity including:
• the Boathouse Collective restaurant at 1640 Pomona Avenue;
• a doggy daycare at 704 W 16th Street; and
• Westside Gateway, a 176-unit Westside Urban Plan residential project on Pomona
Avenue at 17th Street.
The project site falls within the Mesa West Bluff Urban Plan. However, the use is not
incentivized by the plan nor is the applicant requesting any incentives related to the urban
plan.
Hours of Operation with Alcohol Sales
The applicant is seeking a Type 47 On-Sale General alcohol license and has requested
that the hours of operation extend to past 11 PM daily. While the applicant is not within
200 feet of residentially-zoned properties, the location of the site and associated calls for
service for this type of use has triggered a request from the Police Department to restrict
the hours of operation for the site to midnight. The Department believes this will minimize
the potential negative impacts to neighboring properties which will all be closed and
unattended after standard business hours. Since an event center is unique to the
Westside area, the Police Department has requested a condition be added that this CUP
be reviewed after one-year of operation. This review will allow for better analysis of the
potential impacts on the neighborhood and, if necessary, further evaluation of hours of
operation. The condition requested by the Police Department has been included as
Condition 26.
Noise
An event center will have activities which may include live entertainment or amplified
music onsite. The event center is within an industrial area and more than a quarter of a
mile from any residentially-zoned property and, therefore, staff does not anticipate noise
issues for the surrounding area. The conditions of approval do prohibit outdoor speakers
to ensure that noise created by the event center has minimal impacts to the surrounding
uses.
Parking Plan
The proposed use requires 86 parking spaces as indicated in Table 1 below. The project
site is striped for 15 parking spaces. The City uses a parking ratio of 16 parking spaces
per thousand square feet for the area proposed for the event center; other uses are
parked as indicated in Table1. This ratio is based on a parking study conducted for the
second proposed event center in the City and has since been applied to all subsequent
event center applications. Outdoor event space would require additional parking,
however, this application does not propose the use of outdoor space.
Table 1 – Parking Spaces Required
Site
Area (SF)
Parking
Generation Rate
Number of
Parking Spaces
Required
Event Center Space 5,103 16 per 1,000 SF 81.66
Office 517 4 per 1,000 SF 2.06
Restrooms / Storage 841 3 per 1,000 SF 2.52
Total 6,461 Total Required Parking 86 = 86.25
The proposed site was developed for an industrial use. Therefore, the number of parking
spaces onsite is insufficient to meet the more intensive parking needs of an event center.
To meet the requirement, the applicant is proposing shared parking on other properties
on Ohms Way in the vicinity of the project site.
When the Planning Commission heard this item, the owners of three different properties
had signed the Planning Application and were willing to participate as shared parking
providers. These sites were either adjacent to or within 300-feet of the project site as
shown in Table 2 below. To provide the required number of parking spaces for the event
center, all identified shared parking spaces on all shared parking properties must be
available for valet services. As permitted by the Zoning Code, the requirement for one
parking space will be met through provision of a bike rack. Quantities for proposed shared
parking as presented to the Planning Commission is shown below.
Table 2 – Parking Spaces Available and Proposed
Address
Number of
Parking Spaces
On-site
Number of Parking
Spaces With Valet
1618 Ohms Way (project site) 14 25
1609 Pomona Ave 15 34
729 Ohms Way 11 18
1626 Ohms Way 8 8
On-Site Bike Parking 1 1
Total Parking 49 86
Subsequent to the Planning Commission action, the owner of 1609 Pomona provided
notice that he was terminating the shared parking agreement and is no longer a party to
the application. This resulted in a loss of 34 required parking spaces per the Planning
Commission action. In response, the applicant has secured additional parking on two
additional sites: 705 and 722 Ohms Way. Transportation has reviewed these sites and
approved 19 valet parking spaces at 705 Ohms Way and 12 valet parking spaces at 722
Ohms Way. This still leaves the proposed use three parking spaces short of the minimum
requirement as approved by Planning Commission. See Table 2A below.
Table 2A – Revised Parking Spaces Available and Proposed
Address
Number of
Stripped Parking
Spaces On-site
Number of Parking
Spaces With Valet
1618 Ohms Way (project site) 15 25
729 Ohms Way 11 18
1626 Ohms Way 8 8
705 Ohms Way Unclear 19
722 Ohms Way Unclear 12
On-Site Bike Parking 1 1
Total Parking 3
Free valet parking is proposed and necessary for the project to provide the Code-required
parking and manage the parking for events on multiple properties. Therefore, free valet
parking will be required to be available at all events. All patrons will drop cars off at a valet
stand in front of 1618 Ohms Way. The drop off location requires each car to turn around
to be parked either onsite or at one of the four offsite locations. To mitigate any congestion
impacts this may cause, the plan allows for the three spaces in front of the building to be
filled last and be used to navigate vehicles to onsite or offsite shared parking locations.
The proposed valet plan includes 1 to 2 valet managers and 2 to 10 valet runners
depending on the size of the event. The valet parking plan, including the two new sites at
705 and 722 Ohms Way, has been reviewed by the City’s Transportation staff. See
Attachment 4. As indicated above, the application remains three parking spaces deficient
from meeting the minimum parking requirement for the proposed use. To address this
issue, staff has included a proposed condition of approval (COA #27) requiring any
parking deficiency to be met prior to issuance of building permits.
Hours of Operation
The applicant originally requested the ability to schedule events daily between 8 AM and
2 AM, with office hours from 8 AM until 5 PM. However, after reviewing the hours of
operation of the businesses at the shared parking sites, staff recommended that event
operations be limited to times when businesses at the shared parking sites are closed to
ensure parking is available for use by the event center. The Table 3 shows the hours of
operation of the four shared parking sites.
With the new properties participating within the shared parking the proposed hours of
operation from staff would be as shown below.
In considering this matter, the Planning Commission determined to allow the applicant
to operate on a limited basis prior to availability of off-site shared parking spaces.
Specifically, based on available parking onsite, the Commission determined to allow
events with a maximum of 50 attendees to occur daily between 8 AM and 5 PM. The
Commission allowed full occupancy of the building between 5 PM until 2 AM on
weekdays and 10 AM and 2 AM on weekends.
As previously indicated, this conditional use permit will be reviewed after six months of
operation, if determined necessary, to further evaluate the parking demand and
operational characteristics. Through the proposed conditions of approval, hours,
magnitude, and accessibility will be included in shared parking agreements with
participating property owners.
General Plan Conformance
The proposed event center is in conformance with the City’s General Plan.
1. Policy LU -1.1 Provide for the development of a mix and balance of housing
opportunities, commercial goods and services, and employment opportunities in
consideration of the needs of the business and residential segments of the
community.
Table 3 – Hours for Businesses At Shared Parking Sites
Site Weekdays Saturday Sunday
729 Ohms Way 7:30 AM – 6:30 PM 7:30 – 6 PM Closed
1626 Ohms Way 8 AM – 5 PM Closed Closed
705 Ohms Way 7:30 AM – 5 PM Closed Closed
722 Ohms Way No Public Patrons No Public Patrons No Public Patrons
Proposed Hours for Events At The Harper
Weekdays Saturday Sunday
6:30 PM – 2 AM 6 PM – 2 AM 8 AM – 2 AM
Consistency: This proposed use would increase the mix of commercial
services found in the Westside and would provide needed services for
businesses and residents of the community.
2. Policy LU-6.1: Encourage a mixed of land uses that maintain and improve the
City’s long-term fiscal health.
Consistency: Developing a diverse and comprehensive supply of goods and
services for the primary and secondary markets within the community assists
in retaining existing and attracting new business. Local event centers are
potential venues for community or family gatherings, as well as a community
amenity for businesses.
Planning Commission Action
On November 13, 2017, the project was considered by the Planning Commission. Based
on the evidence presented by the applicant and testimony during the hearing, the
Planning Commission approved the project on a 4-0 vote (Commissioner Navarro Woods
absent).
A link to the Planning Commission staff report can be found on the City’s website here
(hardcopy also attached to this report):
https://www.costamesaca.gov/ftp/planningcommission/agenda/2017/2017-11-13/PH-
2.pdf
Appeal of Planning Commission Action
On November 20, 2017, an appeal of the action of the Planning Commission was filed by
Bright Guard LLC.
The appellant raised several concerns regarding the proposed use, as approved by
Planning Commission. The concerns raised include: the conflict of hours between existing
uses on shared parking sites and the approved hours of operation for the event center; the
actual availability of parking on the sites identified for shared parking; and the lack of self-
parking locations triggering more on-street parking in an already congested area.
The City Council review of the decision of the Planning Commission is a new public hearing
and the Council may consider the project in its entirety. The Council is not restricted to
considering only evidence previously presented to the Planning Commission or issues
raised in the requests to review the project.
LEGAL REVIEW
The City Attorney has reviewed the draft resolutions and they have been approved as to
form by the City Attorney’s Office.
ALTERNATIVES
The City Council may take the following actions:
1.Uphold the decision of the Planning Commission to approve the project with a
condition of approval which allows the Director of Development Services (or,
alternatively, the Planning Commission) to approve additional shared parking at other
sites on Ohms Way.
2.Approve the project subject to revised conditions of approval; or
3.Reverse the Planning Commission’s decision and deny the project.
CONCLUSION
The project was approved by the Planning Commission on November 13, 2017. An appeal
of the Planning Commission decision was filed on November 20, 2017. The City Council
may choose to uphold, reverse or modify the decision of the Planning Commission to
approve the proposed project.
_______
DANIEL INLOES BARRY CURTIS, AICP
Senior Planner Economic Development & Development
Services Director
Attachments: 1. Location Map, Zoning Map, and 500’ Radius Map
2.Applicant Letter
3.Site Photos
4.Plans
5.Appeal Application and Letter
6.Draft Resolutions and Exhibits
7.Planning Commission Staff Report with
Attachments
Applicant: Greg McCafferty
2400 E. Katella Ave., Suite 800
Anaheim, CA 92806
Property
Owner for: 1618 Ohms: Steve Fortunato
5518 Atlas Street
Los Angeles, CA 90032
1626 Ohms: Kim Harding
995 Modjeska Circle
Costa Mesa CA 92627
729 Ohms Way: Tasedan Robert Traian
729 Ohms Way
Costa Mesa CA 92627
722 Ohms Way: Richard E Goehring III
722 Ohms Way
Costa Mesa CA 92627
705 Ohms Way: Michele Cook
18100 Von Karman Ave #500
Irvine CA 92612