Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1.0_Draft Minutes_04-21-2011CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH Planning Commission Minutes April 21, 2011 Regular Meeting — 6:30 p.m. ROLL CALL: Commissioners Eaton, Unsworth, Hawkins, McDaniel, Toerge, Ameri, and Hillgren - present STAFF PRESENT: James Campbell, Acting Planning Director Gregg Ramirez, Senior Planner Michael Torres, Assistant City Attorney Melinda Whelan, Assistant Planner Marlene Burns, Administrative Assistant POSTING OF THE AGENDA: The Planning Commission Agenda was posted on April 8, 2011. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None REQUEST FOR CONTINUANCES: None CONSENT ITEMS SUBJECT: MINUTES of the regular meeting of April 7, 2011 ITEM NO. 1 Motion made by Commissioner Unsworth and seconded by Commissioner Hawkins to Approved approve the minutes as corrected and amended. Motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Eaton, Unsworth, Hawkins, McDaniel, and Hillgren Noes: None Excused: Ameri and Toerge PUBLIC HEARING ITEMS SUBJECT: Gina's Pizza Minor Use Permit - (PA2011 -006) ITEM NO. 2 3142 Balboa Boulevard PA2011 -006 A minor use permit to allow a food service, eating and drinking establishment with no Approved late hours, an outdoor dining area, and a Type 41 (On Sale Beer and Wine, Eating Place) Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) license. Melinda Whelan, Assistant Planner, gave a brief overview of the staff report with a PowerPoint presentation. Commissioner Eaton asked some questions and they were answered by Ms. Whelan as follows: • The proposed Alcoholic Beverage permit has been requested to be utilized in the outdoor dining patio. • Occupancy limits are based on a ratio of 1:15 square feet of net public area for Page 1 of 4 NEWPORT BEACH PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 04/21/2011 outdoor dining, resulting in a maximum occupancy of 28, therefore the occupancy limit will be greater than the proposed seating of 22. According to the acoustical engineer, the noise generated in a "worst case scenario" at the maximum occupancy level in the patio would raise the dBA by one (1) to be 55.1 dBA, which would still lower than the ambient noise level from Balboa Boulevard, which is 59.8 dBA. Chairperson McDaniel asked if the noise from the interior would add to the noise from Balboa Boulevard, resulting in added noise levels affecting the neighbors. Ms. Whelan explained that there would be no additional noise and that the report included all maximum noise. Ms. Whelan continued to answer the questions that Commissioner Eaton had related to noise barriers and noted that the acoustical engineer's recommendation was that a barrier measuring nine (9) feet in height would be sufficient to mitigate the noise impact. The nearby residential second floor decks were included in the analysis. Commissioner Unsworth proposed that a condition be added that would establish a maximum occupancy for the outdoor dining area so that the limit on occupancy would not be over what the Building Division would require. Deputy City Attorney Michael Torres responded that this has been done in the past, and would be consistent with what the Planning Commission has done as in the case of Malarky's. Andrew Costa, Owner and Operator of Gina's Pizza, gave a PowerPoint presentation to the Planning Commission and stated he is familiar with outdoor dining in close proximity to residential areas and that there should not be any concerns as there is no police record of any issues. With his Corona del Mar store. Commissioner Hawkins noted several concerns, including • Proximity of this proposed restaurant wall being so close to residential homes, unlike the Corona del Mar restaurant, which is separated by a street. • The table with the fire pit. • Alcohol sales exceeding food sales. • Potential of new operator taking over in the future and suggested as an alternative option to apply for an Operator's Permit for late hour establishments so as to limit future operators. Architect, Gary Wang, addressed stated that the fire pit measures 6.5 feet in diameter. Public comment period was opened. Comments were given by the following residents from the surrounding neighborhood: George Schroeder Howard Minnick Ron White Comments included: • Noise levels and second -hand smoke negatively affecting the adjacent residential properties. • Proposed limiting of hours for the outdoor patio to 9:00 p.m. instead of 10:00 p.m. • Requesting that impacts caused by the outdoor patio be mitigated by establishing and monitoring them regularly. • Limited parking may be an issue. Page 2 of 4 NEWPORT BEACH PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES • Trash bin in drive way that was not there before, is now there. Commissioner Hillgren asked that in addition to indoor smoking being prohibited, if outdoor smoking was also prohibited for establishments. Ms. Whelan confirmed that it is the case; therefore the issue had been resolved. Sean Whiskeman with Catellus Development did not believe that the noise levels were an issue as they were measured from 18 feet. The property management team is going to meet with neighbors to ensure that there is open communication for complaints and address concerns. In response to the trash bin, it is there to serve Chase Bank, so Gina's will be required to use the trash bin in the back. Not in favor of the trellis and believes that it is an over engineered design. Acting Planning Director, Jim Campbell, stated that the non - smoking state law is to protect employees from enclosed locations, but that it was unknown if the outdoor patio with enclosure would be considered an enclosed location, by definition. Public comment period was closed. The Applicant, Mr. Costa, stated that a condition for non - smoking in the outdoor patio would not be a concern. With regard to the trellis plus the panels, Mr. Costa opined that it would be overkill, but would be willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that noise would not be an issue. Proposed that the existing wall could be rebuilt to abate noise and there would be no need for trellis. Referencing the hours, he would be willing to close the patio at 10:00 p.m. as long as operations are still allowed inside at the normal time. A forty to sixty ratio for alcohol to food sales, would be acceptable. According to Architect Wang, extending the height of the wall to nine (9) feet might be a better solution avoiding the trellis and added that the acoustical engineer would be a part of the process. Commissioner Eaton suggested wrapping the wall over the service corridor gate up to the building as an alternative; the suggestion was acceptable to Architect Wang. Motion made by Commissioner Hillgren and seconded by Commissioner Hawkins, to adopt a resolution approving Minor Use Permit No. UP2011 -002 with the attached findings and conditions: Modify Condition No. 11 to change the hours of operation for the outdoor dining area from closing at 10:00 p.m. to closing at 9:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; and 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Modify Condition No. 33 to include the percentage of gross sales to food sales and read as follows: The quarterly gross sales of alcoholic beverages shall not exceed 40 percent of the gross sales of food during the same period. The licensee shall at all times maintain records, which reflect separately the gross sales of food and the gross sales of alcoholic beverages of the licensed business. These records shall be kept no less frequently than on a quarterly basis and shall be made available to the Police Department on command. Condition of Approval to be added and include that smoking be prohibited within the outdoor dining area. • Modify Condition No. 13 to read as follows: The 9- foot -tall wall /barrier shall be provided adjacent the outdoor dining area consistent with the Acoustical Report to mitigate noise to meet the decibel of Section 10.26 of the Municipal Code. Subject to the 04/21/2011 Page 3 of 4 NEWPORT BEACH PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES 04/21/2011 approval of the Planning Director, the design of the noise wall /barrier can be modified from that shown on the approved plans but, shall remain in substantial conformance with the Acoustical Report. Also, consistent with the recommendation in the Acoustical Report, the service corridor gate shall be replaced with solid wood filled metal or '/< inch tempered glass and the noise wall /barrier as designed shall extend above the gate. The wall /barrier is not required to extend the 10 -feet beyond the service corridor gate unless required to meet the requirements of Section 10.26. The design of the noise barrier must reduce noise levels to meet the requirements of Section 10.26 and the outdoor dining area is not permitted to operate without this barrier. Motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Eaton, Unsworth, Hawkins, McDaniel, and Hillgren Noes: None Excused: Ameri and Toerge STAFF AND COMMISSIONER ITEMS Planning Director's report: ITEM NO. 3 • Malarky's Appeal to be heard at the April 26, 2011 City Council Meeting. • Broadmoor Setback Appeal to be heard at the May 10, 2011 City Council Meeting. Planning Commission reports: No report. ITEM NO. 4 Announcements on matters that Commission members would like placed on a future ITEM NO. 5 agenda for discussion, action, or report. Requests for excused absences — Commissioner Hillgren requested to be absent on May ITEM NO. 6 191 2011 and June 9, 2011. The request was granted. ADJOURNMENT: 7:54 p.m. MICHAEL TOERGE, SECRETARY CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH PLANNING COMMISSION Page 4 of 4