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The Planning Commission on Tuesday, Feb. 18, approved a conditional use permit for a restaurant space on the corner of Main and Central. The vote was 4-0.
The proposed restaurant will occupy the former Bank of America location on Main Street.
Fifteen members of the public, including four members of the City Council, sat in the audiance. (They were District One Council Member Joe Kalmick, District Two Councilman Ben Wong, District Four Councilwoman Patty Senecal, and District Five Councilman Nathan Steele.)
Five residents and appliant Scott Levitt spoke during the public hearing. Residents raised concerns about parking and noise. The owner of the adjacent property raised concerns about access to their property and possible water runoff.
District Two Planner Karen Nolta, appearing for the first time, asked who the restauranteur was and if they had experience.
“So tonight, before you is a conditional use permit. Itself is not specific to any restaurant at all, only the use,” Levitt said.
“Unfortunately, I can’t answer your question, because the restaurant designation is simply to approve the use in advance, so that we’re able to have the restaurant coming very early on and not have to go through the process of the CUP itself,” Levitt said.
“We are heavily vetting all applications at this time for the use and making sure they are a locally based community restaurant that has establishments in more than one city, because we are going to be investing a lot of money in the tenant improvements on behalf of anybody who takes that restaurant space, and because the owners, myself and everybody associated with this project, have been residents here for more than 40 years, we’re heavily invested in making sure that this is a proper entity to come to this city,” Levitt said.
The commission also found that the project was exempt from California Environmental Quality Control Act review.
The restaurant will have 17 parking spaces. To meet the city’s parking requirement, the business will pay $140,000 in-lieu parking fees. That’s $3,200 for each deficient space.
Background
“Scott Levitt, (‘the applicant’) on behalf of 208 Main Street LLC (‘the owner’), is requesting approval to establish a full-service restaurant with a Type 47 ABC license (On-Sale General-Eating Place), live entertainment, and outdoor dining at 208 Main Street in an existing 6,426 square foot two-story commercial building formerly occupied by the Bank of America, according to the staff report prepared by Assistant Planner Samuel Funes and Community Development Director Alexa Smittle.
According to the Statement of Information filed with the California Secretary of State, Harold Rothman is the “manager or members” of the business that will own the restaurant.
“The building is on a 5,875 square foot lot (50-by-117.5 feet), and the Project Site includes the neighboring property at 200 Main Street, also owned by 208 Main Street LLC, which is currently developed as a parking lot that previously served the Bank of America business, and is proposed to continue to serve as the parking for this use. Both lots are equivalent size and combine to create a Project Site of 11,750 square feet,” Smittle and Funes wrote.
“The Main Street Specific Plan (MSSP) and Seal Beach Municipal Code (SBMC) Section 11.2.10.010 (Commercial and Mixed-Use Districts – Land Use Regulations) require approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to establish a restaurant on Main Street. The CUP is also needed for the full service of alcohol, live entertainment, and outdoor dining. The proposed hours of operation for the restaurant are Monday through Saturday, 11am to 10pm, and Sunday 10am to 9pm. The proposed timeframe for live entertainment is Friday and Saturday, 6pm to 10pm, and Thursday and Sunday, 5pm to 9pm. The live entertainment would be indoors, and the project will be conditioned so that any resulting exterior noise created would be within the required exterior noise standard of 55 decibels for the neighboring residential properties,” Smittle and Funes wrote.
“The live entertainment and full service of alcohol components have been referred to the Seal Beach Police Department for review, who have stated that they have no objections, and the project is being conditioned pursuant to City Council Policy 600-1 (Standard Conditions for Alcohol-Related Land Uses) to meet the standards set by City Council for mitigating potential nuisances to the surrounding area,” Smittle and Funes wrote.
“The outdoor dining is being proposed within a new 497 SF covered patio located adjacent to Main Street and the on-site parking lot. No outdoor dining is being proposed within the sidewalk (public right-of-way) or in any area outside of the patio. As the proposed patio and parking for this project are located on the separate parcel at 200 Main Street, the conditions of approval require the applicant be required to record a covenant to hold both parcels as one property,” Smittle and Funes wrote.
Parking
“The parking lot currently exists with 18 standard spaces and 1 ADA space, and the project proposes to modify the parking lot to add a van accessible ADA space and reduce the standard spaces by 3 to allow for the additional ADA space and the new covered patio,” Smittle and Funes wrote.
“The new parking count would be 2 ADA spaces and 15 standard spaces, for a total of 17 spaces. The restaurant has a floor area of 5,700 SF, which by Code, would require 57 parking spaces (1 space per 100 SF for restaurants), meaning that the project is deficient by 40 parking spaces. The Main Street Specific Plan states that any or all of required parking for uses within Main Street can be satisfied through the Main Street In-Lieu Parking Program. As a condition of approval, the applicant would be required to enter into and remain in good standing in the Main Street In-Lieu Parking Program to cover the 40 remaining required parking spaces, and record a covenant setting for its obligations. In order to comply with the In-Lieu Parking Program, under the City’s cost recovery program, at time of project approval the applicant/owner must pay an initial fee of $140,000 (calculated at $3,500 per deficient space), and an annual payment of $4,000 (calculated at $100 per deficient space),” Smittle and Funes wrote.
“The tenant improvements proposed will include exterior and interior alterations. Changes to the exterior façade facing Main Street will consist of large picture windows and 11’ 4” double swing front doors. Changes to the exterior façade facing Central Avenue will consist of a covered patio structure, outdoor dining area, large picture windows, and a 7’ 10” glass sliding door. The final exterior alteration will be the installation of new stone veneer on Main Street, Central Avenue, and the alley façade sides of the building. The interior alterations include new partitions, restrooms, a bar area, and a kitchen,” Smittle and Funes wrote.
“The Land Use Element of the General Plan identifies Main Street as the focal point of downtown Seal Beach and the traditional commercial core of the city. It is an area that provides for a pedestrian-oriented mix of offices and buildings, surrounded by an area of mixed housing types and institutions. The Land Use Section of the MSSP [Main Street Specific Plan] states that ‘the commercial uses are the key to the area’s special character,” and that ‘It is important that they be retained and other similar uses be encouraged to establish on Main Street whenever possible’,” Smittle and Funes wrote.
“Restaurant uses are one of the core business types of Main Street, providing a recreational meeting and dining place for residents and tourists. Through use of appropriate conditions of approval, such as hours of operation, noise standards, and the other standards set forth by City Council Policy Memo 600-1, the expectation is that the proposed restaurant use can integrate into the commercial core and of Main Street and its character while minimizing potential negative impacts to the nearby residences,” Smittle and Funes wrote.
