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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Reso 13-1 (705 Pier, Club 705) -1- P.C. RESOLUTION 13-1 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HERMOSA BEACH, CALIFORNIA, MODIFYING A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO ALLOW ON-SALE GENERAL ALCOHOL, OUTDOOR DINING AND LIVE ENTERTAINMENT, IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN EXISTING RESTAURANT (“CLUB 705”), AT 701-705 PIER AVENUE, LEGALLY DESCRIBED AS A PORTION OF LOT 1, TRACT 9203 AND LOTS 11-18 OF BLOCK 80, SECOND ADDITION TO HERMOSA BEACH, HERMOSA BEACH, CALIFORNIA The Planning Commission of the City of Hermosa Beach does hereby resolve and order as follows: Section 1. The Planning Commission conducted a duly noticed public hearing to consider the revocation or modification of the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) governing the business at 705 Pier Avenue approved City Council Resolution 07-6531, which allows on-sale general alcohol, outdoor dining and live entertainment in conjunction with an existing restaurant. Said hearing was conducted pursuant to Section 17.70.010 of the Hermosa Beach Municipal Code on January 15, 2013, at which testimony and evidence, both written and oral, was presented to and considered by the Planning Commission. Section 2. Based on evidence received at the public hearing, the Planning Commission makes the following findings in support of modifying the Conditional Use Permit, pursuant to Section 17.70.010 of the Hermosa Beach Municipal Code: 1. The use is being exercised so as to be detrimental to the public health and safety and the conditions of approval are inadequate to mitigate the impacts of the use allowed by the permit. The Hermosa Beach Chief of Police reported a number of serious incidents and a pattern of behavior within and in the immediate vicinity of the establishment attributed to the business reflecting lack of security and poor management, the most egregious being assaults with a deadly weapon (not firearm), shooting firearm negligently, and altercations involving large numbers of people, occurring between 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m., as well as other incident earlier in the evening, in violation of Conditions of Approval 6.1 and 6.2 in Resolution 07-6531. 2. The primary emphasis of the business is required to be restaurant use, and alcohol sales and live entertainment are allowed as incidental uses. The provision of live entertainment and alcohol sales, in combination with late-night hours and poor management and lack of security, has created a focus on nightclub activity rather than restaurant use, resulting in intoxication, unruly behavior and disturbances, and safety issues within and in the immediate vicinity of the establishment, as demonstrated by the record of criminal activity within and in the immediate vicinity of the establishment. Such activity has the potential to exacerbate negative impacts experienced in the downtown area (which exhibits a high concentration of alcohol serving establishments as evidenced by the adoption of regulations in H.B.M.C. Section 17.40.080 to cap and reduce the intensification of late night alcohol serving establishment). This activity further impacts police services by requiring a disproportionate share of the law enforcement resources available for the city as a whole. The location of TVs in the westerly portion of the restaurant violates Condition 1.22 in Resolution 07-6531 and may facilitate a sports bar atmosphere with a focus on alcohol rather than food consumption, which can result in over serving, intoxication, disturbances and the impacts stated above. Furnishings are not being maintained consistent with conventional dining height and sized furniture required by Conditions 2.1 and 2.2 in Resolution 07-6531; rather, bar height furniture and sofas and coffee tables typical of a lounge or bar are utilized in some areas. The business operator has not responded to requests from the City for information demonstrating whether the establishment is -2- operating consistent with the definition of a restaurant per H.B.M.C. Section 17.04.050 where “a minimum of fifty (50) percent of the total gross sales, computed monthly, shall result from the sale of prepared food.” 3. The repeated pattern of disturbances and other violations is determined to be the result of poor management, security and supervisory techniques contrary to the terms of the Conditional Use Permit, and contrary to what is required of the responsible operation of an establishment serving general alcohol under the license granted by the State Department of Alcohol Beverage Control. This behavior has resulted in criminal activity (as reported by the Police Department during the public hearing), that has been detrimental the public health, safety and welfare and has created a nuisance, which is also inconsistent with the Condition 6.1 and 6.2 in Resolution 07-6531. The City has established via the public record supporting the adoption of H.B.M.C. Section17.40.080 that late-night alcohol serving establishments open after 11:00 p.m. and the traditional dinner hour tend to focus on bar and nightclub activity rather than restaurant use, thereby resulting in the impacts described above. Additionally and as noted above, most of the criminal activity reported within and in the immediate vicinity of the establishment occurred after midnight. Therefore, a 12:00 midnight close for the business located at 705 Pier Avenue and prohibition on admission charges is a reasonable response to refocus the business on restaurant use, allowing the business to serve patrons until midnight while reducing the late-night impacts and potential for criminal activity discussed above. Section 3. Based on the foregoing, and pursuant to Section 17.70.010 of the H.B.M.C., the Planning Commission hereby modifies the Conditional Use Permit for on-sale alcohol, outdoor dining and live entertainment in conjunction with a restaurant for the property at 705 Pier Avenue, superseding C.C. Resolution 07-6531,as follows: 1. Permitted use. 1.1. The business shall be operated as a bona fide restaurant: The kitchen shall be equipped to prepare food from its component ingredients; whenever the restaurant is open it shall offer a full-service lunch and/or dinner menu; food service from the menu shall be available all hours that the establishment is open for business. A minimum of fifty (50) percent of the total gross sales, computed monthly, shall result from the sale of prepared food. The permittee shall maintain a summary of gross receipts of food and alcohol indicating the percentage of each to the total on a monthly basis. The permittee shall submit said summaries to the Police Chief on a quarterly basis. The Police Chief reserves the right to request additional verification as needed to verify compliance with this Conditional Use Permit. Failure to provide said quarterly reports on a regular basis may result in a request by the City to the ABC to investigate the subject business’s compliance with the alcohol license conditions. 1.2. Live entertainment incidental to food service is permitted. This may include dancing to amplified music (with or without a disk jockey); live musical performance; and live performances of other kinds. Only one dance floor and one stage for live performance is permitted, consistent in size and location with the approved floor plan, as well as a piano in the location indicated in the approved floor plan. Live entertainment and dancing shall be “incidental” in the sense that it serves to entertain customers who are in the premises for the purpose of dining and with the exception of the pianist, entertainment shall be limited to the easterly third of the restaurant as shown in the approved floor plan. The dining areas in the westerly portion of the restaurant shall not contain televisions. 1.3. Alcohol may be served for on-premises consumption in a manner consistent with the -3- license issued by the Alcohol Beverage Commission. 1.4. Admission shall not be charged for entrance into the business, nor shall drink minimums of any kind be imposed at any time. 1.5. Entry into the business shall not be limited to persons 21 years of age or older. 1.6. The permittee shall not solicit, advertise, or otherwise encourage the use of its premises for “pub crawl” activities whereby persons travel in an organized or predetermined fashion between premises with the goal of consuming alcoholic beverages at each stop along the way. 2. Floor plan. 2.1. The furniture and interior improvements within the business premises shall conform to the floor plan attached as Exhibit A. Tables and chairs shall be conventional dining height and size (i.e. not bar height or cocktail table size). The area devoted to entertainment staging and dancing shall be as delineated in the floor plan. Other than trivial or insignificant deviations in the placement or arrangement of furniture, no change whatsoever shall be made to the interior of the premises that is inconsistent with the approved floor plan absent approval by the Planning Commission by way of a modification to this Conditional Use Permit. A fully dimensioned floor plan consistent with the requirements of this condition prepared by the business is attached as Exhibit A. 2.2. Under no circumstances shall furniture or other interior/exterior improvements be rearranged to accommodate more dancing, more entertainment or greater occupancy or any type of intensification absent approval of the Planning Commission as prescribed in paragraph 2.1. 2.3. After 10:00 p.m. every night of the week, the exterior access at the northwest side of the restaurant into the garage shall be used for egress from the restaurant only, and the permittee shall install appropriate signage restricting that door to egress only. The north parking area (garage) shall be used exclusively for vehicular parking and no other purpose. 2.4. Occupancy shall not exceed the permitted occupancy load as prescribed by the Building Code, based on the floor plan shown in Exhibit A and review and approval of a code complying seating plan. An approved occupant load sign shall be posted in the business as directed by the Fire Department. Any single occupancy violation in excess of ten percent (10%) or repeated lesser violations of occupant load shall result in the immediate scheduling of a hearing before the Planning Commission to consider modification or revocation of this Conditional Use Permit. 2.5. The outdoor paved area between the restaurant and public sidewalk on Pier Avenue (labeled uncovered patio on the floor plan) shall not be included as part of the plan for the restaurant, and shall not be used for outdoor dining. No food or beverage service or other customer use is permitted in this area. 2.6. Vehicles exiting the parking garage after 10:00 p.m. every night of the week shall exit onto Ardmore Avenue to the left (southbound) only. The permittee shall install signs to the satisfaction of the Director in the garage alerting motorists to this requirement. -4- 3. Operating hours. 3.1. The hours of operation for all operations of the restaurant, including the lounge/bar areas, shall be limited to between 7:00 A.M. and 12:00 midnight daily. Live entertainment shall cease by 11:30 p.m. daily. All customers shall vacate the premises by not later than the required closing times and the doors shall be locked. Staff may remain onsite after the business is closed to the public for the purposes of cleaning, site maintenance and securing the premise only. 3.2. The enclosed outdoor patios shall be equipped with standard dining tables and chairs and provided food and beverage service during hours the restaurant is open for business. There shall be no amplified music, televisions or speakers within these outdoor patios. 4. Noise attenuation. 4.1. The permittee shall implement and maintain the noise control recommendation in the acoustical study dated April 17, 2007, and attached hereto as Exhibit B, to the satisfaction of the City pursuant to the schedule attached hereto as Exhibit C. 4.2. Management shall be responsible for the music/entertainment volume levels. During the performance of amplified live entertainment, the exterior doors and windows shall remain closed. In no event shall continuous, sustained or repeated noise from the business be audible at the property line of any residential premises at any time. 4.3. The business shall comply in all other respects with Municipal Code Chapter 8.24 (Noise Control), and noise from the premises shall not constitute a public nuisance. 4.4. The business shall install an audio control system using an outboard pre-amplifier that is locked in an enclosure accessible only to business management. The volume of amplified entertainment in the restaurant shall not exceed 95dBA. 4.5. The business shall install a sign on the exit door leading into the garage with lettering not smaller than four (4) inches in height asking patrons to exit the premises and the garage quietly out of respect for the residential neighbors. The sign shall read substantially as follows: “PLEASE LEAVE THE RESTAURANT AND OUR GARAGE QUIETLY. THANK YOU.” 5. Trash storage and collection. 5.1. The refuse containers/bins utilized by the business shall be secured and locked daily so that they are not susceptible to illegal scavenging. 5.2. Every night at closing, the permittee shall collect trash from the sidewalk and landscape areas adjoining the front of the premises (from Valley Drive to and including the stairway leading up to the Plaza Hermosa parking lot), along Valley Drive (from Pier Avenue northerly to the entrance to the parking garage) and within the parking garage. 5.3. The exterior of the premises shall be maintained in a neat and clean manner and free of graffiti at all times. 5.4. The permittee shall at all times be in compliance with applicable requirements of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and permits issued thereunder. -5- 6. Nuisance avoidance and patron behavior. 6.1. The business shall not operate in a manner that adversely effects or interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of neighboring residential and commercial property. 6.2. The business shall employ adequate staffing and management/supervision to prevent serving underage persons, over-serving alcohol, and loitering, unruliness and boisterous behavior by patrons both inside and outside in the immediate area of the premises. A manager shall remain on the premises daily until at least fifteen (15) minutes after the business closes. All staff serving alcoholic beverages or monitoring patrons shall complete the Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs Training (LEAD) or an equivalent staff training program offered by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. 6.3. A security and lighting plan for the entire premises shall be submitted for review and approval of the Police Chief and shall be implemented on site. 6.4. If the Police Chief determines that there are a disproportionate number of police calls to the business due to the disorderly or disruptive behavior of patrons and the inability or refusal of the business to manage its patrons, the Chief shall so notify the Director of Community Development, who shall forthwith schedule a public hearing before the Planning Commission to consider modification or revocation of this Conditional Use Permit. 6.5 The Police Chief may determine that a continuing police problem exists and may, subject to appeal to the Planning Commission, direct the presence of a police approved doorman and/or security personnel to eliminate the problem. An appeal to the Planning Commission shall be heard within sixty (60) days of filing the appeal. The Police Chief’s determination will not be stayed during the pendency of the appeal. If the problem persists, the Police Chief then shall submit a report to the Planning Commission, which will automatically initiate a review of the conditional use permit. 6.6. The privilege granted to the permittee to serve alcohol for on-premises consumption and to offer live entertainment may be suspended pursuant to the provisions of this condition and the Hermosa Beach Municipal Code, as it exists today or as may in the future be amended. The business may be subject to the suspension provisions below, in the event that the business is found by the City Manager, Fire Chief or Police Chief, to be in violation of any of the following:  Conditions of this Conditional Use Permit;  The State Alcoholic Beverage Control license;  Police calls and/or public disturbances that are found to be increasing and in the opinion of the Police Chief constitute serious offenses or pose a risk to public safety or health.  The maximum posted occupant load. Should one violation occur, the City Manager may order the premises closed and all business operations suspended for three days, two of which shall fall on a Friday and Saturday. If a second violation should occur, the City Manager may order the premises closed and all business operations suspended for three days, two of which shall fall on a Friday and Saturday. The permittee shall be notified of the suspension in writing. The actual date of the suspension and whether a violation has occurred shall be as determined by the City Manager. -6- The permittee may appeal the suspension by filing a written notice of appeal with the City Clerk within ten calendar days of receipt of the notice of suspension. Filing a written notice of appeal shall stay the notice of suspension while the appeal is pending. The appeal shall be heard by the City Council at its next regular meeting, subject to agenda posting requirements. The City Council shall hear testimony and consider evidence regarding the factual circumstances of the violation and shall uphold the suspension if the evidence supports the existence of the violation. The City Council's decision shall be final. 6.7. Runoff from washing and/or rinsing of restaurant equipment, including floor mats, food preparation utensils and other coverings, shall drain to the sewer system only; under no circumstances shall site run-off drain to the stormwater system. All operations shall comply with Chapter 8.44 and 8.56. 7. Miscellaneous conditions. 7.1. The operations of the business shall be reviewed six months after the adoption of this Resolution and shall be subject to review by the Planning Commission as part of the City’s review of on-sale establishments. If a review of this Conditional Use Permit occurs, the Planning Commission may amend the above conditions and/or impose any new conditions deemed necessary to mitigate detrimental impacts on the environment or neighborhood arising from use of the premise. 7.2. The permittee shall comply with all ordinances, regulations and laws applicable to a business of this kind in effect as of the date hereof or hereafter adopted. 7.3. In addition to any other remedy available at law, in equity or as provided in the Municipal Code, any: (i) significant or material violation, or (ii) any repeated, continuous or sustained violation of any condition of approval of this Conditional Use Permit shall constitute cause for revocation of this Permit. The permittee shall be required to reimburse the City fully for its costs and expenses, including but not limited to attorney’s fees, in undertaking any such corrective action. Reimbursement of enforcement costs shall constitute a civil debt and may be collected by any means permitted by law. In the event that violations of this permit occur, the City shall refrain from issuing further permits, licenses or other approvals until such violation has been fully remedied. 7.4. The provisions of this Conditional Use Permit shall supersede City Council Resolution 07-6531 which is hereby rescinded and are of no further force and effect. 7.5. To allow for an adequate monitoring period, no extension of operating hours shall be considered or permitted for at least one year from the date of this Resolution. Section 4. This grant shall not be effective for any purposes until the permittee and the owners of the property involved have filed at the office of the Planning Division of the Community Development Department their affidavits stating that they are aware of, and agree to accept, all of the conditions of this grant. The Conditional Use Permit shall be recorded, and proof of recordation shall be submitted to the Community Development Department. Each of the above conditions is separately enforced, and if one of the conditions of approval is found to be invalid by a court of law, all the other conditions shall remain valid and enforceable.