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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 5.1 Woodworks Home Center Appeal atg41,1fD1113CIA:01\ AGENDA STATEMENT Meeting Date: September 27, 1982 SUBJECT : Appeal of Woodworks Home Center and Willard R. Lovens, Conditional Use Permit DC-18 and Variance DV-3 EXHIBITS ATTACHED : Memo from Planning Director dated September 23, 1982; Exhibits A & B; Letter from Ross Woodard; Letter from John Tremoulis; RECOMMENDATION : Consider alternatives FINANCIAL STATEMENT: None DESCRIPTION : Woodworks Home Center and Willard 'R. Lovens were tentatively granted a Conditional Use Permit to allow operation of a tavern and a Variance to allow less than the required number of off-street parking spaces. Ross Woodard and John Tremoulis, Nasaw Properties, appealed the application. The Staff has identified two alternatives available to the Council : 1. Deny the application because a) the number of parking spaces is inadequate, b) the circulation layout is unsuitable, and c) the lack of visibility and the difficulty of providing patrol service make the use improper. 2. Deny the appeal and approve the application with conditions that a) the tavern shall not be open before 6 p.m. weekdays, b) future tenants shall not be open in the evening, c) turn around space is provided in the parking area, and d) the permits shall expire in one year. Exhibits A and B would implement the alternatives. COPIES TO: ITEM NO. 5' .w •.rr OTHE CITY OF DUBLIN° P.O.Box 2340 Dublin,CA 94566 (415) 829-3543 MEMORANDUM September 23, 1982 TO: City Council FROM: Planning Director. SUBJECT: Appeal of Woodwork Home Center and Willard R. Lovens, Conditional Use Permit DC-18 and Variance DV-3 GENERAL INFORMATION Appellants: 1 ) Ross Woodard 2) John Tremoulis, Nasaw Properties Project: 1 ) Conditional Use Permit to allow operation of a tavern 2) Variance to allow less than the required number of off-street parking spaces Location: 7171 Amador Plaza Road, Dublin Assessor Parcel Number: 941-305-33 Applicant: Willard R. Lovens Property Owner: Woodworks Home Center Existing Zoning: C-2 General Commercial District Existing Land Use: Commercial building, partially occupied with furniture store Surrounding Zoning and Lane Use: - North - C-1 ; retail stores South - C-2; auto sales and service East - C-1 ; flood control facility, freeway - West - C-1 ; retail stores Site history: July 17, 1979: Site Development Review S-734 was approved for development of a Midas Muffler Auto Center. Project approval expired. August 4, 1980: Site Development Review S-780 was approved for a bulk retail sales building. Site was developed as approved. July 14, 1982: Conditional Use Permit DC-18 and Variance DV-3 were tentatively approved to allow operation of a tavern with arcade facilities without the required number of off-street parking spaces. July 23, 1982: Conditional Use Permit DC-18 and Variance DV-3 were appealed. Applicable Regulations: Section 8-49.2 of the Zoning Ordinance states that a tavern may be permitted as a Conditional Use in the C-2 District. Section 8-94.0 of the Zoning Ordinance states that Conditional Uses "require special review and appraisal in each instance, in order to determine, 1 ) whether or not the use is required by the public need, 2) whether or not the use will be properly related to other land uses and transportation and service facilities in the vicinity, 3) whether or not the use, if permitted will , under all the circumstances and conditions of the particular case, materially affect adversely the health or safety of persons residing or working in the vicinity, or be materially detri- mental to the public welfare or injurious to property or improvements in the neighborhood, and 4) whether or not the use will be contrary to the specific intent clauses or perfor- mance standards established for the District in which it is to be located." MEMORANDUM TO CITY COUNCIL"' Appeal Page 2 Regarding a Variance, Section 8-93.0 of the Zoning Ordinance requires positive findings on each of the following three requirements: a) That there are special circumstances including size, shape, topograp4', location or surroundings, applicable to the property which derive the property of privildges enjoyed by other property in the vicinity under the identical zoning classification; b) That the granting of the application will not constitute a grant of special privileges inconsistent with the limitations upon other properties in the vicinity and zone; c) That the granting of the application will not be detrimental to persons or property in the neighborhood or to the public welfare. Environmental Review: Categorically exempt, Class 5, Minor Alterations in Land Use Limitations ANALYSIS Parking Spaces: The number of parking spaces needed for the project is a key issue. The attached chart summarizes the parking space situation. The Site Development Review was approved for bulk retail sales with a parking requirement of 28 spaces. The project as built has 33 spaces. The Woodworks furniture store, utilizes 12 of the required spaces. The proposed tavern would have a parking `r"equirement of 24 spaces. Combined with only the Woodworks, the requirement would be 36 spaces. If the remainder of the building is used for bulk retail sales, the total parking requirement would be 45 spaces. In effect, the tavern would require a variance to allow 33 parking spaces where 45 are typically required. The project building and the adjacent Amador Plaza retail center have an agreement for joint use of parking spaces. The businesses which are currently open during the evening and can jointly use the parking spaces include Togo's Restaurant, Sundae Faire Restaur- and, and the Woodworks. Based on 15 sq. ft. per occupant, the maximum occupancy of the tavern is approximately 97. If the tavern attracts a capacity crowd at an average of 2 people per car, approx- imately 48 parking spaces would be utilized. Circulation: The existing parking area leads to a dead-end without adequate turn around space. Under the best of circumstances, the parking area is awkward to use. If the parking area is full , drivers may try to back out of the parking area rather than use a back-and-forth turning maneuver. This would be potentially hazardous if the driver has been drinking. The parking area could be redesigned to include a turn around, but that may eliminate approximately 8 of the current parking spaces. Visibility: The project site,including building and parking area, is not visible from public roads. To patrol the site, a police vehicle would need to use the access through the Amador Plaza parking lot. Signage for the tavern would also be difficult. Arcade: The project was processed through the County as a tavern and arcade. The applicant has clarified that the proposed use would have no more than 2 video or arcade type machines. As clarified, the project would be considered only a tavern. MEMORANDUM TO CITY COUNCIL° 0 Appeal Page 3 Appeal Process: The application, with accompanying materials and fees, was taken in by the County prior to July 1 , 1982. When the City took over planning services, the County was processing the application and had scheduled the public hearing. After the application was tentatively approved, appeals were filed with the County. The City Council is now the appropriate body to hear the appeal. RECOMMENDATIONS Staff has identified two alternative actions: 1) Approve the appeal and deny the application; 2) Deny the appeal and approve the application with conditions. The following reasons would support the denial of the application: 1 ) The number of parking spaces is .inadequate and the circulation layout is unsuitable to make the required Conditional Use and Variance findings that the use will not be detrimental to the public welfare and adversely affect the health or safety of persons in the vicinity. 2) The lack of visibility and the difficulty of providing patrol service make the land use improper. The following reasons would support the conditional approval of the application: 1 ) The number of parking spaces would be adequate with the condition that the tavern would not be open for business before 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. 2) The circulation layout would be acceptable with the condition that the parking area is redesigned to include a turnaround. 1 ROOMED *PAM'S PMCIAL TOTA L GORRt-MT Y 'P Y-tt4b SPACES 3'S WOODWoRIcb ONLY 12 W00D WDc,J' LS + SV L-k RETAIL 28 1 VER.N ONLY 2'4' woopwoRKc + -tave.rt DULY 3b WooDvuoRics + TAVERN 45 + FOLK RE TA I L dG-t8 b.ND 121-3 PAR1ut4& StTOhT1c* EXHIBIT A: DENIAL OF WOODWORKS HOME CENTER AND WILLARD R. ®ENS CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT DC-18 AND VARIANCE DV-3 On 1982, the City Council of the City of Dublin took the following actions regarding the Woodworks Home Center and Willard R. Lovens Conditional Use Permit DC-18 to allow operation of a tavern and Variance DV-3 to allow less than the required number of off-street parking spaces in a C-2 Retail Commercial District at 7171 Amador Plaza Road, Dublin, Assessor Parcel Number 941-305-33: A. Found the project to be categorically exempt, Class 5, Minor Alteration in Land Use Limitation B. found the following regarding the Conditional Use Permit and Variance: 1 ) The use would have a materially adverse effect on the health or safety of persons in the vicinity or be materially detrimental to the public welfare due to the lack of parking spaces and the unsuitable circulation layout 2) The use would not be,properly related to police service in the vicinity due to the lack of visibility to the site and use C. Denied the application Q EXHIBIT B: DENIAL OF APPEAL AND APPROVAL OF WOODWORKS HOME CENTER AND WILLARD R. LOVENS CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT Dt-18 and VARIANCE DV-3 On 1982, the City Council of the City of Dublin took the following actions regarding the Woodworks Home Center and Willard R. Lovens Conditional Use Permit DC-18 to allow less than the required number of off-street parking spaces in a C-2 Retail Commer- cial District at 7171 Amador Plaza Road, Dublin, Assessor Parcel Number 941-305-33: A. Found the project to be categorically exempt, Class 5, Minor Alteration in Land Use Limitation. B. Found the following regarding the Conditional Use Permit: 1 ) The use is required by the public need for eating and drinking establishments in the area 2) The project is properly situated in relation to other commercial land uses, and transportation and service facilities in that police services can utilize a public access easement to the site 3) The project, as conditioned, will not have substantial adverse effects on the health or safety of persons in the vicinity, or be substantially detrimental to the public welfare, or injurious to property or improvement 4) The use will not be contrary to the specific intent of the district to provide for a wide variety of business and commercial activities C. Found the following regarding the Variance: 1) The location and surrounding development pattern deprive the property of privi- leges enjoyed by other property in the vicinity in the same zoning district 2) The 12 space reduction in the- required number of off-street parking spaces, as conditioned, will not constitute a special privilege inconsistent with the limitations on other properties in that the project has an agreement for joint use of parking spaces and the hours of operation will reduce the parking demand 3) The project, as conditioned, will not be detrimental to persons or property in the neighborhood or to the public welfare D. Approved the project subject to the following specific conditions: 1 ) The tavern shall not be open before 6 p.m. , Monday through Friday 2) Future tenants of the vacant stalls in the building shall not be open in the evening 3) The parking area shall be redesigned to include a turn around subject to the approval of the Planning Director 4) The project shall be implemented in substantial compliance with the approved plans and materials on file with the Planning Department 5) The Conditional Use Permit and Variance shall expire September 27, 1983, and shall be revocable for cause prior to that time in accordance with the Zoning Ordinance. - �1wW' low r,, v; .? July 23, 1928 i' • William Mehawein Clerk-Board of Supervision County of Alameda 1221 Oak, Room #536 Oakland, CA. 94612 Dear Mr. Mehawein: I wish to protest the use permit granted to Gordon Fisk on Amador Plaza Road in Dublin on July 14, 1982. As a merchant in the Amador Plaza Center, I believe: that "a tavern" is inappropriate for the area, and parking is probably insufficient for the proposed use. „Sincerely, - A . r 3LC-C c c ss Woodard Tan's To Go 7135 Amador Plaza Road Dublin, CA. 94566 CC: Metropolitan Mgt. Box 2946 San Francisco, CA. 94126 • ENaarsop • i rule ip d. : 294.6 - • • 94126 - f (4'5).9 -• '5° " "et u) C, -:11 t-) • ':. •11 • July 23, 1982 r William Mehrwein, Clerk I Alameda County Board of Supervisors p 4 To Whom It May Concern: The undersigned. prope;ty er hereby appeals the decision of the Planning Comm 'ssio of Alameda County to grant use permit no. C-4742 D -lA d parking variance C-4744 DV-3. The undersigned owns property adjoining the property which is the subject of these permits. The undersigned property •owner and the property owner who obtained the variance and permits are subjected to conditions and restrictions which - provide for common area parking and landscaping along with ingress and egress. Therefore the undersigned is signifi- cantly affected by the variance and use permit. The undersigned wishes to appear before the Board of Super- visors to present in detail the hardship created upon the undersigned and its tenants' by the likely results of the variance and use permit. AMADOR PLAZA By: APA Properties General Partner By: Nasaw Properties e -neral Partner By: oh, Tremo is ra =ger VISA / / •