TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Marisa Lundstedt, Community Development Director
Laurie Jester, Planning Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Council Consideration and Direction for a Hardship Exemption from the Downtown IZO to Allow a Change of Use for a Retail Use to Occupy a portion of a Vehicle Repair Space at 1140 Highland Avenue (Community Development Director Lundstedt).
DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council consider and provide direction on the hardship exemption from the Downtown IZO to allow a change of use for a retail use to occupy a portion of the auto repair space at 1140 Highland Avenue.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no known fiscal implications to the City of Manhattan Beach with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
An Interim Zoning Ordinance (IZO) was adopted in July 2014 and extended in August (Attachment 1) as an Urgency Ordinance for the Downtown area. The IZO, Ordinance No. ORDU 14-0016, is a "time-out" and does not allow a change from one use classification to another, such as the subject request to change a portion of the auto repair space to a retail use. The purpose of the IZO is to maintain the status quo of uses in the Downtown while the area is being studied and new guidelines and regulations are developed. The IZO allows for a Hardship Exemption as stated in Section 5 (Attachment 1). The IZO will expire on July 15, 2015, unless it is extended for up to another year. A separate report on the IZO, and the status of the Downtown Specific Plan, in accordance with the Government Code requirements, is included on the consent calendar of this agenda.
A Hardship Exemption for this location was requested on May 4, 2015 and was denied by the City Council. The request was to allow a retail use to temporarily occupy the vacant restaurant space at the same location discussed in this report.
DISCUSSION:
Section 5 of the IZO allows review of a Hardship Exemption if an application is filed in writing, contains all documentation to support the hardship claim, and it is filed 10 days in advance of a regular meeting of the City Council. The Ordinance states "
The City Council shall grant a hardship exemption upon making a finding that denial of the exemption and enforcement of this Ordinance against the applicant's property would result in the applicant being deprived of all economically viable use of the property. The City Council may consider other factors in order to determine hardship." Attachment 2 is the letter from the property owner requesting the exemption, a layout of the existing space, the layout of the area with the change of use and the proposed conceptual floor plan of the area. The applicant has informed us that the request is time-sensitive and cannot wait until July 7, 2015 when the Council will consider extending the Ordinance or letting it expire.
The subject site consists of a two-story multi-tenant building with two offices upstairs, and retail space (Current Events), an auto repair shop (off the Center Place alley), and a restaurant (vacant since January 2015, previously F-Grill) downstairs, as well as several parking spaces at the rear on the top level. According to the property owner the total building is about 5,600 square feet (including offices, retail, restaurant and auto repair) and the vacant restaurant space is approximately 935 square feet. The proposed tenant, Nikau Kai, is requesting an exemption to convert approximately 532 square feet of the auto repair space to retail space.
The existing vacant restaurant space will be converted to a café that requires a much smaller kitchen area and a restroom will be relocated. This will result in the reduced in the restaurant/café size to about 614 square feet, with the balance of the square footage being retail. An approximate 36 square foot addition is proposed to connect the cafe space to the new retail space. Currently there is no internal connection between the restaurant and the auto service use. The current restaurant has a Use Permit that allows service of beer and wine and hours of operation from 6am-10pm, Sunday-Thursday and 6am-11pm, Friday and Saturday. The proposed café use may operate under this existing Use Permit, without an exemption from the IZO. The tenant has indicated that they are proposing to operate the café and retail business from 7 AM to 9PM daily, and they have not determined whether or not they will be serving beer and wine in the café.
The restaurant space is currently the only vacant tenant space on the site, the auto repair is used by the property owner and he will consolidate into the remaining approximate 1,200 square feet. The plans provided are conceptual and the final design and layout may be adjusted as needed to meet parking, Building Safety, Health Department and other requirements. Attachment 2 further outlines Nikau Kai's request.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council review the request for a Hardship Exemption from the Downtown IZO to allow a change of use for a retail use to occupy a portion of the auto repair use at 1140 Highland Avenue, and provide direction.
Attachments:
1. Ordinance No ORDU 14-0016-Downtown IZO- August 20, 2014
2. IZO Hardship Exemption Request Letter and floor plans-Nikau Kai- June 4, 2015