ITEM 7-C
Council Mtg: October 13, 1992
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Conditional Use Permit and Reduced Parking Permit to
allow the operation of a 7,068 square foot, 376-seat
cabaret and restaurant with a Type-47 (on-sale general)
alcohol license at 250 Santa Monica Pier.
Conditional Use Permit 92-026
Reduced Parking Permit 92-002
Applicant: Ash Grove Enterprises/City of Santa Monica
Appellant: Stephanie Barbanell
INTRODUCTION
This report recommends that the City Council deny the appeal and
uphold the Planning Commission's approval of Conditional Use
Permit 92-026 and Reduced Parking Permit 92-002.
BACKGROUND
The proposed project will occupy 6,104 square feet of floor area
within the existing Billiard Building and 964 square feet of
outdoor patio space adjacent to the building. The
cabaret/restaurant will have a total of 376 seats including a
25-seat lunch cafe, a 10-seat bar, a 35-seat private room, 66
outdoor patio seats and a 240-seat main cabaret/restaurant room.
Seating in the main room will be oriented in a cabaret
configuration, directed toward a 200 square foot stage in the
southwest corner of the facility. A 300 square foot kitchen and
a 160 square foot bar will be located in the northwest corner of
the facility.
The 2,152 square foot second floor of the project will contain a
35-seat private banquet room, restrooms, a dressing room, storage
space and an office. An elevator will be installed to provide
handicap access to the second floor. The portion of the facility
over the stage and cabaret seating area features a high ceiling
with no second floor space.
Exterior modifications to the building will be limited to new
signage and awnings, relocated doors and windows, and outdoor
dining. These improvements will be subject to the review and
approval of the Landmarks Commission.
In March of 1990, the Zoning Administrator granted an
Administrative Approval to allow the renovation of the existing
Billiard Building at 250-258 Santa Monica Pier. The remodel
included interior and exterior improvements to the building.
The two existing restaurant tenants (the Crown and Anchor and
Santa Monica Seafood) reopened in the building following the
remodel. Exterior improvements were also made to the portion of
the building where the Ash Grove is to be located.
In April of 1992, the City Council approved the Santa Monica Pier
Development project, which included renovation of some existing
Pier buildings and addition of the Fun Zone. The shared parking
analysis contained in the Environmental Impact Report certified
by the City Council for the Pier Development Project concluded
that there would be approximately 68,085 square feet of
restaurant/entertainment space and a total of approximately 2,270
restaurant seats associated with the redeveloped Pier. This
number included consideration of the Ash Grove and Sinbad's
projects. The parking analysis stated that there is currently
adequate parking available to meet the parking demand for the new
restaurants and entertainment uses. A Conditional Use Permit and
Reduced Parking Permit for Sinbad's are the subject of a separate
action, also pending before the City Council.
In May of 1992, the City Council approved an Alcoholic Beverage
Service Policy Statement for the Santa Monica Pier. While the
proposed policy statement recommended by the Pier Restoration
Corporation included a limit on the number of alcohol outlets to
be permitted on the Pier, the Council's action did not set a
numerical limit, but stated that each alcohol permit application
should be reviewed on its own merits, until a Pier Master Plan is
adopted.
On August 26, 1992, the Planning Commission approved a
Conditional Use Permit and Reduced Parking Permit to allow the
issuance of a Type-47 alcohol license for the Ash Grove. The
Commission approved the project by a vote of four to one, with
one Commissioner absent and one Commissioner abstaining. On
August 27, 1992, the applicant appealed one of the Planning
Commission's conditions of approval, and on September 9, 1992,
Stephanie Barbanell appealed the overall approval of the
project.
ANALYSIS
Reduced Parking Permit
Code required parking for the proposed cabaret/restaurant would
be 110 spaces based on a ratio of one space for every 50 square
feet of bar area and one space for every 75 square feet of
restaurant area. The applicant has applied for a Reduced Parking
Permit to allow a reduction of the required number of parking
spaces based on the fact that shared parking is characteristic of
the Pier and the adjacent beach lots. The Environmental Impact
Report certified by the City Council for the Pier Development
Project included a parking analysis which concluded that there
are enough existing parking spaces to accommodate the existing
demand from the Pier, as well as the demand which would be
generated by the Ash Grove and Sinbad's projects.
There are currently 1,210 parking spaces that serve the Pier,
with 272 spaces in the Pier surface parking lot, 75 spaces at
1640 Appian Way, 706 spaces at 1550 Pacific Coast Highway, and
157 spaces at 1440 Pacific Coast Highway. The EIR concludes that
the existing peak parking demand for the Pier is 939 spaces, and
that the parking demand for the Ash Grove and Sinbad's would be
101 spaces for a total of 1,040 space. This results in a surplus
of 170 spaces. During the evenings, which are expected to be the
peak demand period for the subject facility, there are
substantial parking resources available due to the lack of beach
parking demand. Based on these calculations, staff is
recommending approval of the Reduced Parking Permit.
Alcohol License
According to the list of alcohol licenses in the City of Santa
Monica as of May 11, 1992, published by the ABC, within a 500'
radius of the site, there is one Type-40 (on-sale beer) license,
five Type-41 (on-sale beer and wine) licenses and two Type-47
(on-sale general) licenses. These include the following:
Type 40 (On-Sale Beer)
Mermaid Cafe (42 seats) 1557 Ocean Front Walk
Type 41 (On-Sale Beer and Wine for Eating Place)
SM Pier Seafood (115 seats) 258 Santa Monica Pier
Surf View Cafe (80 seats) 330 Santa Monica Pier
American Grill (36 seats) 378 Santa Monica Pier
Jack's on the Pier (58 seats) 390 Santa Monica Pier
Big Dean's Cafe (64 seats) 1613 Ocean Front Walk
Type 47 (On-Sale General for Eating Place)
Boathouse Restaurant (332 seats) 301 Santa Monica Pier
Crown and Anchor (114 seats) 256 Santa Monica Pier
In addition to the outlets listed above, in May of 1992, the
Planning Commission approved a Conditional Use Permit to allow
the issuance of a Type-47 alcohol license for a new restaurant to
be located at 401 Santa Monica Pier.
Planning staff has spoken to representatives from the Police
Department regarding alcohol outlets on the Pier. With regard to
alcohol sales on the Pier in general, Police Department staff
have stated that the majority of alcohol problems on the Pier and
in the vicinity result from people who buy alcohol at an off-sale
location and bring it to the Pier or the beach, rather than
people who consume alcohol in Pier restaurants. Regarding the
closing time of Pier alcohol outlets, Police Department staff
have stated that they do not have significant concerns about
establishments on the Pier being open until 2:00 A.M., although
shorter hours of operation typically result in fewer
disturbances. A full complement of security personnel are on
duty at the latest allowable closing time.
Appeals
As stated in the attached appeal form dated 09/01/92 (Attachment
A), the applicant appealed one of the Planning Commission
conditions of approval. However, since that time, the
applicant's appeal has been withdrawn.
The second appeal of the Planning Commission approval was filed
on September 9, 1992, by Stephanie Barbanell (Attachment B). Ms.
Barbanell appealed the approval based on her concern about the
number of alcohol outlets within the area of the Pier, and her
contention that the approval of the project violates portions of
the Alcohol Outlet Section of the Zoning Ordinance. The
appellant states that there should not be any more alcohol
outlets in the area of the Pier based on the ABC definition of
overconcentration which relates the number of alcohol outlets in
a given census tract to the amount of crime. However, the ABC
definition
is a guideline which may be used by the ABC to deny an alcohol
license, but denial is not a requirement for the ARB or for local
jurisdictions. While the Zoning Ordinance does not contain a
definition of "undue concentration", staff is recommending in the
Citywide Alcohol Policy that numerical limits, similar to the
ones in effect on Main Street, be established for the Santa
Monica Pier and the Bayside District Specific Plan area. These
are the areas where, due to the high numbers of out of town
visitors and the concentration of visitor-serving uses, there is
a high demand for a large number of eating and drinking
establishments and a potential for over concentration of alcohol
outlets. A numerical limit is one way of dealing with the
potential of over-concentration and has been utilized on Main
Street and the Promenade. However, as noted above, the Council
decided not to adopt a limit for the Pier until a complete Pier
Master Plan is adopted.
The appellant also raises several issues related to the sale and
consumption of alcohol and the impact of alcohol outlets on the
health and safety of neighboring residents and the general
population. Through the establishment of a Citywide Alcohol
Policy, the Planning Commission and staff are recommending
several amendments to the alcohol section of the Zoning Ordinance
to ensure that alcohol outlets are operated in a manner not
detrimental to surrounding residents. Furthermore, the proposed
alcohol license is for an establishment where alcohol would be
ancillary to the primary use as an entertainment and restaurant
facility.
Conclusion
The RVC District standards of the Zoning Ordinance permit
restaurant and entertainment uses on the Pier. The sale of
alcohol would be ancillary to the primary use of the premises as
a restaurant and entertainment venue. Previous Council actions
indicated a policy of a case by case decision on new alcohol
permits prior to the adoption of a Pier Master Plan. In staff's
view, no new evidence has been presented which would lead staff
to recommend approval the appeal.
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 deny the appeal
and approve Conditional Use Permit 92-026 and Reduced Parking
Permit 92-002 with the findings and conditions contained in the
Planning Commission Statement of Official Action (Attachment C).
Prepared by: D. Kenyon Webster, Planning Manager
David Martin, Associate Planner
Planning Division
Land Use and Transportation Management Department
Attachments: A. Appeal form dated 09/01/92
B. Appeal form dated 09/09/92
C. Planning Commission Statement of Official Action