TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Anne McIntosh, Community Development Director
Laurie B. Jester, Planning Manager
Ted Faturos, Assistance Planner
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration and Approval of a Hardship Exemption Request from the Sepulveda Boulevard Health Care Facilities Interim Zoning Ordinance (IZO) to Allow a New Medical/Massage Use at 2405 North Sepulveda Boulevard (Community Development Director McIntosh).
DISCUSS AND APPROVE REQUEST
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council consider and approve a hardship exemption from the Sepulveda Boulevard Health Care Facilities Interim Zoning Ordinance (IZO) to allow the owner of a new massage/day spa at 2405 N Sepulveda Boulevard to obtain planning approval without requiring a use permit.
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FISCAL IMPLICATION:
There are no known fiscal implications to the City of Manhattan Beach with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
A moratorium on new Health Care Facilities along Sepulveda Boulevard was adopted on August 7, 2017 with Ordinance No. 17-0015-U. On September 19, 2017 Ordinance No. 17-0020-U, amended and extended the IZO to require a use permit for any newly established Health Care Facility on Sepulveda Boulevard instead of an outright ban. (Attachment 1) This IZO expires on August 6, 2018.
A hardship exemption was requested on October 25, 2017 by Blossom Spa, a massage establishment with ancillary day spa services. Blossom Spa wishes to occupy a currently vacant tenant space located at 2405 N. Sepulveda Boulevard. MBMC 10.08.050 considers a massage establishment a medical office use and therefore subject to the Sepulveda IZO.
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 Ordnance states “The City Council shall grant a hardship exemption upon making a finding that denial of the exemption and requiring a use permit prior to establishing a Health Care Facility 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 Blossom Spa’s hardship exemption request, with a letter from the project architect and a proposed floor plan.
The subject tenant space is a former Edible Arrangement retail store with approximately 1,350 square feet of space. The tenant space is part of a multi-tenant building at the southwest corner of Sepulveda Boulevard and Marine Avenue, with the businesses sharing parking in a common lot along Oak Avenue in the rear of the property. The other businesses on site include South Bay Gold, Manhattan School of Dance & Music, Fit On Studios, Coreology Fitness, The Castle, a dermatology office, and Beastie Next Level Fitness. The proposed massage establishment would not increase the site’s parking requirements, as the proposed use’s parking of one parking space for every 200 square feet of tenant space matches the prior tenant’s parking code requirement.
Blossom Spa’s hardship exemption request states that the use permit process itself is an economic hardship, as it takes several months for a project to get to a public hearing with the applicant paying rent during the process for a tenant space that they would not be allowed to occupy if their use permit request is denied.
Staff believes that the hardship exemption request should be granted to Blossom Spa. Blossom Spa’s requested tenant space is a small, long and narrow, relatively awkward space that is only 10 to 15 feet wide. The proposed massage/day spa establishment is a small community oriented, resident-serving use that is not a large doctor’s office or medical plaza. Furthermore, the proposed business is a complimentary use to surrounding businesses, and fits into the existing character of the block and the street.
If a hardship exemption is granted to Blossom Spa and the tenant ultimately chooses not to occupy the space, the hardship exemption does not “run with the land”, and any future Health Care Facility that may want to occupy the same tenant space would have to obtain a new hardship exemption as long as the Sepulveda IZO is still in effect.
ALTERNATIVE
The City Council may determine that the use is consistent with the types of uses that should be discretionary under the IZO until further analysis is done of the Sepulveda Corridor. In that case, the City Council could deny the hardship request and require the owner to apply for a use permit.
Attachment/Attachments:
1. Ordinance No. 17-0020-U - September 19, 2017
2. IZO Hardship Exemption Request Letter and Floor Plans (Blossom Spa)