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Attachment 3 - Letter of Request and Findings7 Planning Construction and Development, Inc Pollo Campero 30 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Anaheim, CA 92801 Page | 1 Letter of Request and Justification Pollo Campero 30 E. Orangethorpe Avenue @ Lemon Street Anaheim, CA 92801 Updated – October 17, 2023 Project Request: The applicant, Pollo Campero, is requesting Planning Commission approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to construct, operate and maintain a drive-through window associated with a fast-food restaurant, which is a use permitted by-right within the General Commercial (G-C) Zone pursuant to the primary uses listed in Table 8-A of Chapter 18.08 of the Anaheim Municipal Code (AMC) and pursuant to the provisions and requirements set forth in Chapter 18.66 of the AMC. The Applicant is also requesting approval of a Lot Line Adjustment to merge two (2) existing parcels into a single legal parcel pursuant to the provisions and requirements of Chapter 17.10 of the AMC. Lastly, the applicant is requesting approval of an Administrative Adjustment to allow for a ten (10%) percent reduction in the required number of off-street parking spaces pursuant to the provisions of Section 18.62.040 of Chapter 18.62 regarding Administrative Review and Section 18.42.020 and 18.42.040 (.0108) of Chapter 18.42 regarding Parking and Loading of the AMC. Subject Property and Existing Site Conditions: The site consists of two (2) parcels located at the southeast corner of Orangethorpe Avenue and Lemon Street.1 Combined, the parcels are approximately 25,157 sq. ft. (0.578 acres) in size with approximately 106 linear ft. of street frontage along Orangethorpe Avenue and approximately 168 linear ft. of street frontage along Lemon Street. Parcel 022, which is the larger of the two (2) parcels and located at the street corner, is developed with a 5,108 sq. ft. single-story 5-tenant mini strip mall with a free-standing multi-tenant pylon sign at the street corner, surface parking and perimeter landscaping. Ingress and egress to and from the site is available from one (1) existing drive approach along Orangethorpe Avenue and one (1) existing drive approach along Lemon Street. Both drive approaches are located as far from the street corner as reasonably possible and are adjacent to existing storm drains located in the public right-of-way. There is also a decorative covered bus stop located within the public right-of-way along Orangethorpe Avenue, a bus stop bench and fire hydrant along Lemon Street and overhead utilities along both streets. Parcel 028 is developed with a small 806 sq. ft. single-story automobile repair building currently occupied by Atlas Smog Center. It is also developed with a free-standing pylon sign, 1 APN 073-090-22 and 28 ATTACHMENT NO. 3 7 Planning Construction and Development, Inc Pollo Campero 30 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Anaheim, CA 92801 Page | 2 surface parking and landscaping along the southerly and easterly property lines, which contain mature pine trees. Ingress and egress to and from parcel 028 is available via one drive approach along Lemon Street. In addition, as pointed out by Development Services Staff in the comments received in response to the Conceptual Development Review application2, and as illustrated in the ALTA survey, there is an existing oversized trash enclosure that spans the easterly property line of parcel 028 at a skew. Approximately half of the trash enclosure is located on the project site and the other approximate half is located on the adjoining property to the east.3 That portion of the trash enclosure block wall that is on the subject property will be cut vertically and a new perpendicular block wall will be constructed to fully enclose the trash enclosure on the side facing the subject property. When completed the adjacent property owner and their tenant will still have access to and will be able to fully utilize the remaining portion of the trash enclosure on their property. It is also important to note that there is no recorded easement between the subject property and the adjacent property to the east that would grant legal access to either property owner across property lines. Proposed Development: The proposed development will consist of a new Fast Food Restaurant as defined by Chapter 18.92 of the AMC, a drive-through window, surface parking lot, landscaping, loading zone, trash enclosure, lighting, and new signage. The proposed Fast Food Restaurant will be one-story in height, 2,100 square feet in size and located near the northeast corner of the property with the proposed drive-through lane bordering the easterly property line. The building elevations will incorporate various modern architectural features including a varied roofline, steel canopies over entrances, aluminum awnings over windows, porcelain tile oriented in a vertical subway tile configuration, an aluminum band detail, and an aluminum composite paneling in a faux country wood with lime, green, yellow-gold, with red-orange accents. The building paint colors will consist of “Fairfax Brown” (dark brown), “High Strung” (lime green), “Knockout Orange” and “Malabar” (light tan) which are recognizable colors of the Pollo Campero fast-food chain. The proposed surface parking area will be paved with asphalt and will accommodate nineteen (19) standard parking spaces inclusive of two (2) handicap spaces, and four (4) clean-air electric vehicle (EV) charging station. Approximately twenty-five (25%) percent of the property will be landscaped inclusive of a ten (10) foot wide curbed landscape planter along Lemon Street measured from the ultimate right-of-way line as well 2 APLN-DEV2022-00060 3 APN 073-090-27 / owners: Hur, Dave Wook; Hur, Jenny Kwon 7 Planning Construction and Development, Inc Pollo Campero 30 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Anaheim, CA 92801 Page | 3 as an additional contiguous fifteen (15) foot wide landscape area between the ultimate right-of-way line and the existing property line. The landscape areas also include a ten (10) foot wide landscape planter along E. Orangethorpe Avenue and a minimum five (5) foot wide landscape planter along the easterly interior side property line, as well as the southerly interior rear property line. The property will be illuminated by six (6) parking lot light standards located within the landscape planters around the perimeter of the property. The west and east elevations of the proposed fast food restaurant building will also have decorative wall-mounted light fixtures. I photometric plan was prepared for the project and is included in the project plans to show compliance with the City’s required minimum 1-foot candle of illumination at grade level. Surrounding Zones: North: General Commercial (C-G) West: City of Fullerton / General Commercial (C-G) South: General Commercial (C-G) East: General Commercial (C-G) Surrounding Land Uses: North: See’s Candies West: Chuze Fitness South: Sonic Drive-In Fast-Food Restaurant and Walmart East: Anaheim Dental Justification for Conditional Use Permit: 1. That the proposed use is properly one for which a conditional use permit or a minor conditional use permit is authorized by the Zoning Code, or is an unlisted use as defined in subsection .030 (Unlisted Uses Permitted) of Section 18.66.040 (Approval Authority) of the Anaheim Municipal Code; The subject property is zoned General Commercial (G-C). Fast Food Restaurants are a permitted use in the G-C zone and Drive-Through Facilities are conditionally permitted in the G-C zone pursuant to Table 8-A of Chapter 18.08 of the Anaheim Municipal Code setting forth the permitted and conditionally permitted uses in commercial zones. 7 Planning Construction and Development, Inc Pollo Campero 30 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Anaheim, CA 92801 Page | 4 2. That the proposed use will not adversely affect the adjoining land uses or the growth and development of the area in which it is located; The site layout, design and operating characteristics of the Fast Food Restaurant and Drive- Through will help ensure the project as a whole will not adversely affect the adjoining land uses or the growth and development of the area in which it is located for the following reasons: a. The proposed development and use fully complies with the applicable sections of the Anaheim Municipal Code, which are set forth to ensure development projects are not detrimental to the health, safety, or general welfare of persons residing or working in the vicinity. b. The surrounding zones and land uses are commercial. c. The foreseeable incremental increase in traffic is insignificant and may be easily accommodated by the daily traffic capacity available on Orangethorpe Avenue and Lemon Street, which are classified as “major” and “secondary arterial” streets in the City’s General Plan Circulation Element. A Traffic Impact Assessment was prepared by Linscott Law & Greenspan (LLG) and included in the application materials. The report concluded that the project’s impact on daily traffic would be “insignificant”. d. The proposed building’s color palette, quality architectural design, building materials and landscaping contribute towards an aesthetically pleasing development that is compatible with the character of the surrounding area and mitigates any operational impacts. e. Modern light standards with LED fixtures, such as those proposed, are able to provide the correct levels of on-site illumination effectively and efficiently while reducing light and glare to adjacent properties. A photometric plan was prepared for the project and is included in the project plans to show compliance with the City’s required minimum 1- foot candle of illumination at grade level. f. The Applicant will maintain its premises in a neat and orderly fashion and maintain free of litter all areas under which the applicant has control. g. The preliminary Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP) for the project complies with County of Orange NPDES Stormwater Program requirements and will properly handle onsite stormwater drainage. In addition, provisions were also included to properly handle anticipated off-site stormwater runoff from the adjacent property to the east. h. The ten (10) acre property to the south of the subject property as well as to the east beyond the immediately adjacent small 9,420 sq. ft. parcel to the east with Walmart as its anchor tenant is also going through the land use entitlement process for redevelopment and is unfettered by this project. 7 Planning Construction and Development, Inc Pollo Campero 30 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Anaheim, CA 92801 Page | 5 3. That the size and shape of the site proposed for the use is adequate to allow the full development of the proposed use in a manner not detrimental to the particular area or to health and safety; The subject property is approximately 25,068 sq. ft. in size with approximately 106 linear feet of street frontage on E. Orangethorpe Ave and 168 linear feet of street frontage on Lemon Street. The subject property size and shape is large enough to accommodate the proposed development in a manner that is in compliance with all of the development standards set forth in the City of Anaheim Municipal Code including setback requirements, off-street parking, landscaping, trash enclosure and on-site circulation. 4. That the traffic generated by the proposed use will not impose an undue burden upon the streets and highways designed and improved to carry the traffic in the area; and The subject property fronts on Orangethorpe Ave, a “Major Arterial” and Lemon Street, a “Secondary Arterial”, which are both designed and improved to carry the level of traffic that is to be expected along a commercial corridor including any incremental traffic deriving from the proposed project. A Traffic Impact Assessment was prepared by Linscott Law & Greenspan (LLG) and included with the application materials. 5. That the granting of the conditional use permit or the minor conditional use permit under the conditions imposed, if any, will not be detrimental to the health and safety of the citizens of Anaheim. The City’s adopted General Plan promotes an arrangement of land uses, streets, and services which will encourage and contribute to the health, safety, welfare and convenience of the people who live and work in the community. The proposed development and use will not jeopardize, adversely affect, endanger or otherwise constitute a menace to the public health, safety or general welfare or be materially detrimental to the property of other persons located in the vicinity insofar as the (G-C) General Commercial zone is consistent with the General Plan land use designation for the subject property and insofar as the proposed Fast Food Restaurant is a permitted use in the G-C zone pursuant to Table 8-A of Chapter 18.08 of the Anaheim Municipal Code (AMC). In addition, the proposed drive-through, which is the subject of the conditional use permit application, is sufficient in length the accommodate the foreseeable vehicular queuing and its layout fully complies with all the applicable development standards of the AMC. In addition, the site layout and design and operating characteristics of the Fast Food Restaurant and drive-through window will help ensure the project as a whole will not be detrimental to the health and safety of the citizens of Anaheim for the following reasons: a. The proposed development and use fully complies with the applicable sections of the Anaheim Municipal Code, which are set forth to ensure development projects are not detrimental to the health, safety, or general welfare of persons residing or working in the vicinity. b. The surrounding zones and land uses are commercial. 7 Planning Construction and Development, Inc Pollo Campero 30 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Anaheim, CA 92801 Page | 6 c. The proposed building’s color palette, quality architectural design, building materials and landscaping contribute towards an aesthetically pleasing development that is compatible with the character of the surrounding area and mitigates any operational impacts. d. Modern light standards with LED fixtures, such as those proposed, are able to provide the correct levels of on-site illumination effectively and efficiently while reducing light and glare to adjacent properties. e. The Applicant will maintain its premises in a neat and orderly fashion and maintain free of litter all areas under which the applicant has control. f. The foreseeable incremental increase in traffic is insignificant and may be easily accommodated by the daily traffic capacity available on Orangethorpe Avenue and Lemon Street, which are classified as “major” and “secondary arterial” streets in the City’s General Plan Circulation Element. g. The proposed drive-through lane will accommodate queuing of nine (9) vehicles which is sufficient for the foreseeable drive-through queuing based on a study prepared by Linscott Law & Greenspan (LLG) and included with the application materials. Administrative Adjustment Findings: 1. The adjustment is consistent with the purpose and intent of the Zoning Code; That administrative adjustment requesting a ten (10%) percent reduction in the amount of required off-street parking is consistent with the purpose and intent of the Zoning Code insofar as granting of the request will merely allow for a reduction in off-street parking by a count of two (2) spaces and insofar as such a small reduction will not negatively impact the ability of the proposed Fast Food Restaurant to accommodate the foreseeable flow of patrons. Moreover, the stated purpose of Chapter 18.42 of the AMC pertaining to Parking and Loading stipulates that it is the purpose of this chapter to prescribe minimum standards for parking and loading to ensure the attractiveness and adequacy of parking and loading of passengers and goods. A parking study was prepared by Linscott Law & Greenspan (LLG) for this project and included with the application materials. The study concluded that the proposed nineteen (19) off-street parking spaces is adequate to meet the demands of the proposed project. 2. The same or similar result cannot be achieved by using provisions in the Zoning Code that do not require the adjustment; In response to the Conceptual Development Review application, Staff pointed out that the project is under-parked by two (2) spaces based on the City’s code requirements and recommended two (2) options for the applicant to consider. Those options are summarized below: 7 Planning Construction and Development, Inc Pollo Campero 30 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Anaheim, CA 92801 Page | 7 A. Reduce the interior seating from twenty-six (26) seats to a maximum of twenty (20) seats. By doing so the required parking ratio would be reduced from ten (10) to four (4) spaces for every 1,000 square feet of gross floor area. Taking this approach would also reduce the amount of required off-street parking from twenty-one (21) spaces to only nine (9) spaces. B. Reduce the size of the building from 2,100 square feet to 1,900 square feet. The two (2) options Staff recommended are unnecessarily burdensome and will result in an inferior project. With regards to option “A.”, it is not uncommon for zoning code requirements to have unintended consequences that hinder what otherwise could be a good development project. It would be contrary to sound planning practice to resolve a minor ten percent (10%) shortcoming in off-street parking by eliminating six (6) seats in order to apply a significantly reduced off-street parking requirement that would allow the applicant to build the same project with fifty-three (53%) fewer parking spaces. If we were to take this approach, the same development with the same building square footage could, pursuant the applicable code standards, proceed with only eight (8) parking spaces. As proposed, the project includes nineteen (19) parking spaces. The same could be said for option “B”. The proposed fast-food restaurant building is only 2,100 square feet in size. Reducing the size of the building by two hundred (200) square feet will have little to no effect on the volume of foreseeable patrons, traffic, and parking demand. It is surprising that the City of Anaheim’s code definition for “Floor Area, Gross” does not include any exclusions for exterior load-bearing walls and columns, mechanical and electrical rooms, elevators and shafts, stairways, and stairwells. Many other local jurisdictions have such exemptions included in their code’s definition of floor area and how it is applied to tabulating required off-street parking. Why should the square footage of an electrical or mechanical room, or any of the other incidental feature of a building trigger additional parking requirements? It appears, that this too was unforeseen and also an unintended consequence of the City’s Code. The electrical and equipment rooms combined with the exterior load bearing walls easily sum to more than the two hundred (200) square feet needed to reduce the off-street parking requirements by a count of two (2) spaces. It is for this reason that the City has written into its Code, provisions for an Administrative Adjustment and it is for these reasons that the same or similar results, referring to the quality of the proposed development and its operation, cannot be achieved without approval of the same. 3. The adjustment will not produce a result that is out of character or detrimental to the neighborhood; That portion of the administrative adjustment requesting a ten (10%) percent reduction in the amount of required off-street parking will not produce a result that is out of character or 7 Planning Construction and Development, Inc Pollo Campero 30 E. Orangethorpe Ave., Anaheim, CA 92801 Page | 8 detrimental to the neighborhood insofar as granting of the request will merely allow for a reduction in off-street parking by a count of two (2) spaces and insofar as such a small reduction will not negatively impact the ability of the proposed Fast Food Restaurant to accommodate the foreseeable flow of patrons.