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 City of Hermosa Beach -- 06-26-01
SUBJECT: PARKING PLAN 01-3 APPEAL
Planning Commission Recommendation To approve the Parking Plan to allow the requested expansion.
Background At their meeting of May 15, 2001 the Planning Commission approved the requested Parking Plan by a vote of 2:1.
The building is currently occupied by the restaurant (1,092 square feet) and an unoccupied adjacent office/storage space. The adjacent space was previously used as a plumbing contractor’s office. The applicant is proposing to occupy the entire building with the restaurant to provide additional seating, kitchen and bathrooms. Parking is available in the rear portion of the lot, which is currently unmarked. The applicant proposes to improve and stripe the parking area for 4 legal size parking spaces, including one handicapped accessible space. The building was originally constructed in 1954, containing three small commercial/retail spaces. City records show that a restaurant use was established in early 1960’s, and has been occupied continuously. The current owner has operated the neighborhood restaurant since 1987.
Analysis Section 17.44.140 of the Zone Code provides that the requirement for additional parking, shall be calculated as the difference between the required parking as stated in this chapter for that particular use as compared to the requirements for the existing or previous use. The proposed expansion is considered an intensification of use from office/retail space to restaurant use, and results in a net increased parking requirement of three spaces as shown on the following:
Pursuant to Section 17.44.210 -- Parking Plans, the Planning Commission approved the request for reducing the on-site parking requirement based on factors related to the unique "neighborhood" quality of the proposed use, bicycle and walk in traffic, peak hours of the proposed use relative to peak hours of adjacent businesses, the amount and distribution of on-street parking, the operating hours of the business. The applicant indicates that one of the unique situations of his property is that the rear parking has been available for Ocean Diner only over the last two years. For the prior 13 years of the restaurant’s operation, the area was fenced and used as storage for vehicles and equipment associated with the plumbing contractor’s business. Staff was unable to find any records to verify when the lot was enclosed by this fence to the exclusion of the other tenants in the building. Further, the applicant indicates that the restaurant primarily services the neighborhood, and the majority of his customers come to the restaurant on foot, or bicycle. (Please See Correspondence, Attachment 5.) In addition to the parking on the rear of the lot, the restaurant currently shares adjacent on-street parking (on Aviation Boulevard) with nearby businesses with differing peak times, meaning that most or all of this parking is available to the restaurant in the mornings. Several on-street spaces are available on the north side of the street between Ocean Drive and the Ralph’s Shopping Center. While the restaurant is also open for lunch, the peak business activity is typically during breakfast periods, especially on weekends, when there may be less demand for on-street space from other businesses. The Planning Commission approved the project parking as an appropriate application of Section 17.44.210 based upon the neighborhood orientation and small expansion proposed for the facility.
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