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Staff Report 200 S. Anaheim Blvd. Suite 162 Anaheim, CA 92805 Tel: (714) 765-5139 Fax: (714) 765-5280 www.anaheim.net ITEM NO. 1 PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT City of Anaheim PLANNING & BUILDING DEPARTMENT DATE: JANUARY 17, 2024 SUBJECT: DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION NO. 2023-00011 LOCATION: 2125-2129 South Harbor Boulevard (Adventure Land) APPLICANT/PROPERTY OWNER: The applicant is Invest CA, LLC, represented by F. Michael Ayaz, Esp. of Blake and Ayaz, ALC, and the property owner is Tammy Ngo of Rainbow International Restaurant Hotel. REQUEST: The applicant requests a determination of Public Convenience or Necessity to permit the off-site sales of alcoholic beverages in an existing retail sales- general use that is incidental to and integrated with The Carriage Inn motel; a modification to Conditional Use Permit No. 2725 to remove a condition of approval requiring a restrictive covenant on the property; and approval of a an administrative adjustment to permit fewer parking spaces than required by the Anaheim Municipal Code (the “Code”) (5% reduction proposed). AUTHORITY: Section 18.60.190 (Amendment of Permit Approval) of Chapter 18.60 (Procedures), Section 18.60.220 (Determination of Public Convenience or Necessity) of Chapter 18.60 (Procedures), and Section 18.62.040 (Administrative Adjustments) of Chapter 18.62 (Administrative Reviews). RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Planning Commission find and determine that a Class 1 – Existing Facilities Categorical Exemption under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Public Resources Code, Sections 21000-21189.57) as set forth in Sections 15301 and 15300.2 of the State CEQA Guidelines (California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, Sections 15000-15387) is the appropriate environmental documentation for this request; and adopt the attached resolution approving Development Application No. 2023-00011. BACKGROUND: Adventure Land is an existing small retail sales-general use that occupies a 2,667 square foot freestanding building within the parking lot of The Carriage Inn motel at 2125-2129 South Harbor Boulevard. Adventure Land, which is incidental to and part of the surrounding motel, primarily serves motel patrons and non- motel patrons in The Anaheim Resort area. The establishment currently sells souvenirs, clothing, convenience food items, travel size toiletries, and other travel size convenience items. Development Application No. 2023-00011 January 17, 2024 Page 2 of 8 The property is in the Commercial Recreation (C-R) District of the Anaheim Resort Specific Plan (SP 92-2) and is designated for Commercial Recreation land uses in the General Plan. The property is surrounded by commercial uses to the north, south, and to the east across Harbor Boulevard, with multiple-family residential uses to the west. Conditional Use Permit No. 2725 was approved by the Planning Commission in October 1985 and allowed for the construction of a 51-room motel on the subject parcel where an existing commercial building (current Adventure Land location) was located, along with a variance from parking requirements for the site. The conditional use permit included a condition of approval requiring a restrictive covenant on the property to note that the parking variance shall terminate upon a change of use from the existing commercial use at the time, a retail wig shop. A retail sales-general use, and the sales of alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption, that is incidental to and integrated within a hotel or motel is permitted by right as an accessory use in the C-R District of SP 92-2. Therefore, a conditional use permit is not required for the sale of alcoholic beverages in conjunction with this application. However, the Planning and Building Director has referred the decision on the Determination of Public Convenience or Necessity to the Planning Commission pursuant to Section 18.60.080 to serve the general public interest and in conjunction with the request to amend the Conditional Use Permit. SITE LOCATION Development Application No. 2023-00011 January 17, 2024 Page 3 of 8 PROPOSAL: The applicant requests a Determination of Public Convenience or Necessity for the sale of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, and distilled spirits) for off-premises (off-sale) consumption in conjunction with the existing retail sales-general establishment. The State of California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) requires a Type 21 Off-Sale General license for this request. The retail sales-general establishment would operate Monday to Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Friday to Sunday from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. As indicated on the floor plan below, alcohol display would occur in a section of refrigerated coolers along the north side wall (beer and wine) and behind the cashier (distilled spirits). According to the square footage calculations on the Project Plans (Attachment No. 2), the alcohol display areas will not exceed 10% of the market floor area (258 square feet total). FLOOR PLAN In addition to the Determination of a Public Convenience or Necessity, the applicant requests a modification to Conditional Use Permit No. 2725 to remove the condition of approval requiring a restrictive covenant on the property indicating that the parking variance shall terminate and become null and void upon any change of use in the existing retail wig shop unless additional Code required parking is provided. Attachment No. 7 includes a Draft Memorandum of Termination of Restrictive Covenant drafted by the City Attorney’s Office, which would be recorded if the application is approved by the Planning Commission. Development Application No. 2023-00011 January 17, 2024 Page 4 of 8 Lastly, the applicant is requesting an administrative adjustment for a 5% reduction in parking for the project site. The motel and freestanding commercial building are on the same parcel and share a total of 44 parking spaces. The Code requires 46 parking spaces for the two uses on the site. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS: Public Convenience or Necessity (PCN): State law limits the issuance of new alcohol sales licenses when a license is requested in a police-reporting district with a crime rate above the City average or when there is an overconcentration in the number of ABC licenses within a census tract. A determination of public convenience or necessity is required for this application because there is an overconcentration in the number of ABC licenses within the census tract. State law also states that such restrictions can be waived if the local jurisdiction makes a determination that the proposed business would serve "public convenience or necessity." The subject location is in Census Tract Number 884.02, which incorporates the City of Anaheim and City of Garden Grove with a population of 4,679 persons. This population allows for two off- sale Alcoholic Beverage Control licenses, and there are presently three licenses (one in the City of Anaheim and two in the City of Garden Grove) in the tract (Attachment No. 4). As stated in Attachment No. 5, the property is within Police Reporting District 2224, which is below the City average in crime. In 2023, there were 59 crimes with the top crimes being larceny, vehicle theft, and robbery. The Police Department does not believe the sale of alcoholic beverages in conjunction with the subject supermarket would negatively influence the type of crime occurring in this area, subject to their recommended conditions of approval. The draft resolution includes conditions from the Police Department, including installation of CCTV, proper lighting, and policing of loitering around the retail store by the business operator to ensure that the business would not negatively affect the neighborhood. The applicant’s PCN Justification (Attachment No. 3) states that sale of alcohol is a convenience for patrons as the surrounding locations do not offer the same type of travel goods geared towards motel patrons, as well as the same types of alcohol. Based on staff’s review of the application, including the applicant’s justification statement and statement of operations, staff supports the request for Determination of Public Convenience or Necessity with the recommended conditions of approval. Modification to Conditional Use Permit No. 2725: The Code states that major amendments to an approved permit are processed in the same manner as a new permit and subject to a new public hearing. The applicant is proposing to remove a condition of approval from Conditional Use Permit No. 2725, which is considered a major amendment. Therefore, before the Planning Commission may approve an amendment to the conditional use permit, it must make specific findings of fact. Each required finding for a conditional use permit and corresponding analysis is presented below: Development Application No. 2023-00011 January 17, 2024 Page 5 of 8 1) That the proposed use is properly one for which a conditional use permit is authorized by this code; The Code permits hotels and motels south of Orangewood Avenue with approval of a conditional use permit. Retail sales-general uses with off-site sale of alcohol are permitted by right in the C-R District of SP 92-2, provided that the use is incidental to and integrated with a hotel or motel. The existing motel was approved by the Planning Commission under Conditional Use Permit No. 2725, and the existing retail sales- general use is permitted by right when incidental to and integrated with a motel. 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 proposed to be located; The motel and various commercial uses have operated on the subject site since the conditional use permit approval in 1985. The surrounding properties include other commercial uses along Harbor Boulevard and multiple-family residential to the east. The motel and retail sales-general uses are compatible with the surrounding land uses and all business activities will occur within the existing buildings. 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 either the particular area or health and safety; The motel and commercial building were originally approved in 1985. There are no proposed exterior modifications to the site or expansions of the building footprints under this application. Based on the applicant’s parking justification letter, there is adequate parking available on-site for both the motel and retail sales-general use at the observed peak hours of operation. 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 applicant submitted a parking justification letter providing parking counts for the subject property during business hours for a weekday and weekend. Based on the counts provided, the peak time for the motel and retail sales-general use was between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on a Saturday when a total of 38 parking spaces were occupied. There is a total of 44 parking spaces available on -site. The existing businesses are currently operating with no observed burden upon the nearby streets and highways from these uses. 5) That the granting of the conditional use permit under the conditions imposed, if any, will not be detrimental to the health and safety of the citizens of the City of Anaheim. The applicant is requesting the removal of a condition of approval requiring a restrictive covenant on the property which restricted the use of the commercial building Development Application No. 2023-00011 January 17, 2024 Page 6 of 8 as a means, in conjunction with a variance, to address a deficiency in Code required parking for the motel and commercial building. In conjunction with the request to remove the condition, the applicant is requesting an Administrative Adjustment, discussed below, to reduce the Code required parking. All business activities will occur within the existing buildings and are consistent with the other commercial uses in the vicinity. Administrative Adjustment: Administrative adjustments are waivers of certain development standards, including parking requirements, and can be approved by the Planning and Building Director. When an administrative adjustment application is made in conjunction with a project that requires Planning Commission action, all requests are subject to review and approval by the Planning Commission. Before the Planning Commission may approve an administrative adjustment, it must make specific findings of fact. Each required findings and corresponding analysis is presented below: 1) The adjustment is consistent with the purposes and intent of the Zoning Code; The Code permits a deviation of up to 20% from the Code-required parking through an administrative adjustment. The retail sales-general use and motel would require 46 parking spaces and 44 parking spaces are provided on-site, representing a 5% reduction in Code-required spaces. Therefore, the request for the administrative adjustment for a 5% reduction is consistent with the purpose and intent of the Zoning Code. 2) The same or similar result cannot be achieved by using provisions in the Zoning Code that do not require the adjustment; and Due to the existing improvements on the property, additional parking cannot be achieved on-site. The motel and freestanding commercial retail building are existing and permitted uses, and the subject application does not propose any changes to the building footprints or general use classifications for the motel and commercial retail use. 3) The adjustment will not produce a result that is out of character or detrimental to the neighborhood. The applicant conducted a parking demand analysis at the project site on November 21, 2023, November 24, 2023, and November 25, 2023, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. The maximum number of spaces used at any one time was 38 spaces, which occurred between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 25, 2023, which is less than the 44 spaces provided. The parking demand analysis was conducted when both the motel and retail sales-general use were operating under normal conditions. Therefore, it can be assumed that adequate parking is provided on-site for the existing uses. Staff does not believe that the reduction of two parking spaces would be out of character or detrimental to the neighborhood, as the parking demand analysis identified that at the peak usage, only 38 spaces were occupied. Development Application No. 2023-00011 January 17, 2024 Page 7 of 8 Environmental Impact Analysis: Staff recommends that the Planning Commission find that the effects of the proposed project are Categorically Exempt from the requirements to prepare additional environmental documentation per California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, Section 15301, Class 1 (Existing Facilities). The Class 1 exemption consists of the repair, maintenance, and/or minor alteration of existing public or private structures or facilities, involving negligible or no expansion of the use beyond that existing at the ti me of this determination. The proposed project does not include the expansion of the existing freestanding building or motel use, and all business activities would occur within the existing structure. Pursuant to Section 15300.2 (c) and 15301 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, there are no unusual circumstances in respect to the proposed project for which staff would anticipate a significant effect on the environment and, therefore, the proposed project would be categorically exempt from the provisions of CEQA. Public Correspondence: Before an application was formally submitted to the City for this request, staff received four letters in opposition to the determination of Public Convenience or Necessity at this location. After the public notices were mailed out for the public hearing, staff received one letter in opposition to the project. All public correspondence documents are included as Attachment No. 9. CONCLUSION: Subject to the recommended conditions of approval, staff believes that the proposed sale of alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption in conjunction with the retail sales-general use would be compatible with surrounding uses and the general vicinity and would provide a public convenience or necessity. Adequate parking will be provided on-site for both the motel and retail sales-general use, and the existing uses would not be detrimental to either the particular area or health and safety of the community. Therefore, staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve the determination of Public Convenience or Necessity for Adventure Land, approve the amendment to Conditional Use Permit No. 2725 to remove the condition of approval requiring the restrictive covenant on the property, and approve the administrative adjustment for 5% reduction in the number of required parking spaces. Prepared by, Submitted by, Amanda Lauffer Scott Koehm Associate Planner Principal Planner Attachments: 1. Draft Resolution 2. Project Plans 3. Applicant PCN Justification 4. ABC License Map 5. Anaheim Police Department Memorandum 6. Applicant Parking Justification Letter Development Application No. 2023-00011 January 17, 2024 Page 8 of 8 7. Draft Memorandum of Termination of Restrictive Covenant 8. Aerial and Vicinity Maps 9. Public Correspondence