ITEM 12-C
Council Mtg: July 10, 1990
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Appeal of a Planning Commission Condition of Approval
and an Appeal of a Planning Commission Approval of
Conditional Use Permit 90-015 to Allow a
Restaurant/Bar/Dance Hall/Billiards Club in an Existing
Building at 1431 Third Street Promenade.
Applicant: Albert Mizrahi
Appellant: Hanna Hartnell
INTRODUCTION
On April 18, 1990, the Planning Commission approved CUP 90-015 to
allow a restaurant/bar/dance hall/billiards club in an existing
building at 1431 Third Street Promenade by a vote of 5-1 with one
absence. The applicant has filed an appeal regarding conditions
of the approval, and a neighbor has filed an appeal of the
project approval. The appeal forms are provided as Attachments A
and B. This report recommends that the City Council approve the
revision of some of the conditions of approval and deny the
appeal of the project approval.
BACKGROUND
The applicant is proposing the operation of a 48 seat restaurant,
24 seat bar, and 82 seat dance area with 16 pocket billiard
tables. A Type 47 alcohol permit, on-sale general for bona fide
eating place, is being requested by the applicant. The
restaurant/billiards club would be located on the second floor of
the building at 1431 Third Street Promenade with existing retail
to remain on the first floor.
ANALYSIS
Applicant's Appeal
At the Planning Commission meeting of April 18, 1990, the
Commission approved the proposed restaurant/billiards club with
the conditions contained in the attached Statement of Official
Action. Planning staff met with representatives of the Santa
Monica Police Department prior to the Commission meeting to
discuss the proposed project. Their major concerns included
limiting access of the establishment to adults only and that no
private areas be established, to prevent possible illegal uses
such as gambling. These conditions were included in the Planning
Commission staff report as alcohol outlet conditions # 1 and #2
(see Attachment D).
Staff also conferred with the State Alcohol Beverage Control
Department (ABC) regarding limits as to serving alcohol. As a
result, staff recommended a condition that the establishment may
serve alcoholic beverages from 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. only. In
addition, the Planning Commission imposed a condition which
limits hours of operation for Sunday through Thursday from 10:00
a.m. to 12:00 a.m. and for Friday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to
2:00 a.m. (see Attachment C).
The applicant is appealing both conditions above as being
unnecessarily restrictive and as imposing a prohibitive economic
condition (see Attachment A). The applicant is requesting that
the hours of operation be extended to 2:00 a.m. seven days a week
and that the restriction upon serving of alcohol between 12 a.m.
and 2 a.m. be removed.
The applicant met with the Police Department regarding these
restrictions following the Planning Commission meeting of April
18, 1990. Representatives of the Police Department indicated at
that time, to the applicant and to staff that they did not object
to a closing time of 2 a.m. each day for the establishment as
their other concerns had been met. The applicant also contacted
Mr. John Hirai of the ABC who also indicated that the Department
did not have an objection to these hours of operation.
Recent approvals of conditional use permits for alcohol licenses
for restaurant uses along the Third Street Promenade, however,
include limiting hours of operation and limiting hours that
alcohol may be served (see Attachment F). On several recent
projects involving restaurants with bars, no alcohol may be
served in the bar after midnight, but alcohol may be served in
the dining room after midnight. Staff is recommending that
alcohol outlet conditions #5 & #8 (see Attachment D) be changed
to include serving of alcohol after 12 a.m. in the dining room
only.
Approved hours of operation for several establishments with
similar uses such as dance floors, limit such uses from 9 a.m. to
12 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and
Saturday. A restaurant/bar/billiards club located 450' north of
the site was approved by Planning Commission with hours of
operation from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. and no restrictions upon serving
of alcohol. Notwithstanding that approval, the Planning
Commission felt that limiting late night operations Sunday
through Thursday was appropriate.
The applicant is also requesting a clarification of the number of
seats as opposed to "persons" specified in the staff report (see
Attachment D) permitted for the establishment as follows: a 48
seat restaurant, a 24 fixed-seat bar, and an 82 seat dance floor
area for a total of 154 seats (see Attachment E).
Neighbor's Appeal
Following the April 18, 1990 Planning Commission approval of the
proposed project, a neighbor appealed the Commission's action.
The neighbor's appeal relates to the effects of noise generated
from the dance area which would be located adjacent to the
neighbor's workplace/residence on the second floor of the
adjacent building (see Attachment B). Windows on the second
floor for each structure are adjacent to each other and the
neighbor is concerned about her ability to open the windows
without adverse noise impacts. The neighbor is concerned that
Planning Commission special condition #4 (see Attachment D)
requiring that party walls between residential and commercial
units be soundproofed to a standard of 60 decibels, may not be
sufficient to contain the noise from the establishment.
The neighbor also requested that a certified acoustical engineer
inspect and report on the effects of developing the space. The
applicant has informed staff that he has retained an engineer to
perform such a study. As of this writing, however, the report
has not been provided to staff.
The neighbor has also stated that she did not receive
notification of the Planning Commission hearing of April 18, 1990
regarding the billiard club at 1431 Third Street Promenade.
Appropriate notice has been provided for the Council hearing on
the matter.
The Planning Commission's conditions of approval regarding both
the hours of operation and the standard condition of
soundproofing the establishment to 60 decibels, is an attempt to
mitigate the impact of the project on adjacent properties and the
Third Street Promenade, in general. Planning staff's proposed
conditions regarding limiting the hours of serving alcohol were
in response to the concerns expressed by the Santa Monica Police
Department and the ABC. In staff's opinion, some modifications
of the conditions appear reasonable based upon further discussion
with the Police Department and the ABC after the Planning
Commission hearing.
Approved limits upon serving of alcohol for recent conditional
use permits on the Third Street Promenade indicate that the
conditions for the project at 1431 Third Street are more
restrictive. Staff suggests the following amended condition in
place of Planning Commission alcohol outlet conditions #5 and #8:
Alcoholic beverages shall only be served in the bar
between the hours from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. On
Fridays and Saturdays, alcohol may be served after
midnight until 2 a.m. only in the dining room.
The neighbor's appeal is related to the effects of noise
generated from the operation of the restaurant/bar/dance
hall/billiards club. The Planning Commission stipulated that the
shared wall was to be soundproofed to a standard of 60 decibels.
The neighbor did not feel that this was sufficient to mitigate
the effects of noise emanating from the dance floor area and
requested that an acoustical inspection and report be prepared.
The Planning Commission made this a condition of approval; staff
is recommending that the condition be revised to indicate more
clearly to whom the report is to be submitted, as well as to
impose a more restrictive limit (45 decibels) on noise levels
affecting neighborhood uses. The recommended level was selected
after consultation with the City's consultant for the Noise
Element of the General Plan.
BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT
The recommendation presented in this report does not have any
budget or fiscal impact.
RECOMMENDATION
It is respectfully recommended that the Council uphold the
Planning Commission approval of Conditional Use Permit 90-015
with the findings and conditions contained in the April 18, 1990
Planning Commission Statement of Official Action, with the
revision of alcohol outlet conditions # 5 & 8 and Special
Condition #4 in the Statement of Official Action (Attachment C)
as stated below.
Alcoholic beverages shall only be served in the bar
between the hours from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. On
Fridays and Saturdays, alcohol may be served after
midnight to 2:00 a.m. only in the dining room.
Party walls, floors, and windows shall be appropriately
insulated to minimize sound transmissions from the
facility to neighboring uses. Soundproofing shall be to a
standard whereby the neighboring uses are not subject to
noise levels of greater than 45 DBA. A noise mitigation
plan to achieve this objective shall be presented to the
Building and Safety Officer, the Director of Planning, and
neighboring businesses prior to issuance of any building
permits for the facility. The Building and Safety Officer
shall review and approve said plan.
Prepared by: Susan White, Assistant Planner
Paul Berlant, Director of Planning
Planning Division
Community and Economic Development Department
Attachments: A. Appeal form dated 5/2/90
B. Appeal form dated 5/2/90
C. Planning Commission Statement of Official
Action dated 4/18/90
D. Planning Commission Staff Report dated 4/18/90
E. Floor Plans and Elevations
F. Memorandum
NOTE: Attachments are not available on PEN, but may be obtained
from the City Clerk's office.