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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3. PC Draft Minutes - 04-03-13DRAFT MINUTES REGULAR MEETING DOWNEY CITY PLANNING COMMISSION WEDNESDAY, April 3 , 2013 CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER, 11111 BROOKSHIRE AVENUE DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA 6:30 P.M. A regular meeting of the Planning Commiss ion was on April 3 , 2013, to Wednesday, April 17 , 2013, 6:30 p.m. at Downey City Hall, 11111 Brookshire Avenue, Downey, CA. After the Flag Salute, roll was called. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Hector Lujan, District 1 Matias Flores, District 4 Jim Rodríguez, District 5 Robert Kiefer, District 2, Vice Chai rman Louis Morales, District 3, Chairman OTHERS PRESENT: Yvette Abich - Garcia, City Attorney Dean Milligan, Captain, Downey Police Department William Davis , City Planner Kevin Nguyen, Assistant Planner Mary Cavanagh, Secretary PLANNING COMMISSIONER ANNOUNCEMENTS ; REQUEST FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS; AND CONFERENCE/MEETING REPORTS : None PRESENTATIONS: None REPORT ON CITY COUNCIL ACTION: None PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1. PLN - 13 - 00054 : Conditional Use Permit Chairman Morales open ed the public hearing for PL N - 13 - 00 0 5 4. Assistant Planner, Kevin Nguyen gave a PowerPoint presentation of the request to allow a business (The Wet Bar) to expand into an adjacent tenant space, thus providing a larger bar area and additional seating area . Staff addressed the use of a disc jockey and dancing at the establishment for their recent grand o pening which is not an allowable use under the existing conditional use p ermit (CUP) , nor is it r equested in this application. Mr. Nguyen informed the applicant s that they would have t o come back for approval of a CUP in order to have live entertainment . Staff recommended approval of the request for expansion. Commissioner Kiefer asked staff if the previous problems with the parking lot had been resolved , what the e xtra room would be used for, and how he discovered there was live entertainment. Mr. Nguyen responded by stating that the parking lot ha d been repaired and slurry sealed, the extra room is used as an office for the bar , and he discovered the live entertainment on the applic ant’s website. Chairman Morales asked when staff received notice regarding th e live entertainment, and if it was at the time he discovered work being done for the expansion that is now being requested. Planning Commission Minutes April 3, 2013 Mr. Nguyen responded that he discovered the live en tertainment last Thursday. Director of Community Development, Brian Saeki, responded to Chairman Morales regarding the discovery of the expansion and stated that it had been discovered a few weeks earlier when he and staff visited the site with building s taff. Mr. Saeki further stated that no work had been done since that time. Commissioner Rodriquez asked if there were any calls for safety , to which Mr. Nguyen responded there were none. Applicant s Luis Gomez , 9516 Lubec St., Downey , and Asvaldo Flores , 2547 E. Vista Canyon Rd, Orange, CA, responded to the Commissioner’s questions by first addressing the live entertainment. Mr. Gomez stated that there was a soft opening over the weekend; the grand o pening will be after the expansion . He further stated that they do not have live entertainment; a DJ was used to set up their existing music system that is controlled by a laptop or IPod . Mr. Flores stated th at the music is just for ambience. Mr. Gomez continued by informing the Commission that they are lim ited a s to growth; they have an agreement with the property owner that it will be done in stages. Mr. Gomez also stated that they have had no complaints regarding noise and have discussed it with some of the residential neighbors who are actual patrons . Chairman Morales asked what would happen to the cooler if the application was not approved, and if the DJ was a one time occurrence, to which Mr. Gomez responded that the cooler was approved in the previous application and would remain as it is a sho wcas e for their wine collection. He confirmed that the DJ was for that day only, to set up the music to the laptop, Commissioner Rodriguez asked if they would be selling food and liquor . Mr. Gomez respon ded that they have finger foods, and may expand later; t hey are currently in negotiations to open a restaurant in the same mall. Commissioner Flores disclosed that he had visited the site and spoke to Hector Lozano and Mr. Flores regarding their plans for the bar . His question now is why they had not made a r equest the whole space from the beginning. Mr. G omez responded that they were limited by ABC (D epartment of Alcohol ic Beverage Control) and their negotiations with the property owner. Vice Chairman Kiefer asked if they had an issue with ABC , to which Mr. Gomez responded that there were no issues ; they are following the ABC guidelines which a re different from those of the C ity. Commissioner Lujan asked if there would be dancing, to which Mr. Flores stated they may add dancing later; however, they are tryin g to keep a lounge atmosphere not a nightclub. Vice Chairman Kie fer inquired as to the capacity current space, and noted that the business currently has a banner sign. He asked if they would be putting up a permanent sign soon. Mr. Gomez responded that the current capacity not including the expansion is 113 occupants. He added that a P l anned Sign P rogram is in the works for the mall . David Gonsalves , 8818 Imperial Hwy, Downey, owner of subject property and the Karate Studio, spoke in favor of the reque st . He stated that the he had limited the applicants from expanding until they had completed a trial period . He was reluctant to have a bar at this location , and he was also concerned with the noise and element it might bring. He further stated that he was very pleased with the applicants and the establishment; he had taken time with the applicants to walk around the back to make sure the noise did not penetrate the walls, and there have been no issues of noise, or c omplaints from the neighbors . He is a lso very pleased with valet parking and strictly enforced dress code. - 2 - Planning Commission Minutes April 3, 2013 Commissioner Rodriguez disclosed that he visited the site, and spoke to the applicants, but did not inform them of who he was. He was very pleased with the atmosphere, describing it as a beautiful upscale lounge with low key, tasteful mu sic. He also commented that the strictly enforced dress code and their valet parking will draw in a good clientele. Commissioner Lujan stated that he did not want to see another bar, but it seems to be a good fa mily owned establishment, and he is pleased that the own er is involved in controlling the noise level. Commissioner Flores was very pleased after visiting the site, also noting that the security is in control o f the parking lot after 6:00 pm. H e believes any dancing would be incidental and does not see it as an issue. Vice Chairman Kiefer commented that at first he was not in favor of approving this application, but it seems the expansion would not increase capacity. He was pleased by the i mprove ments made to the parking lot, and he continued by stating he remains concerned about the noise disturbing the residential neighbors. Chairman Morales confirmed that none of the Commissioners had issue with the hours of opera tion from n oon until 2:0 0 a.m., and the applicant seems to be going in the right direction with the planned sign program. It was moved by Vice Chairman Kiefer, seconded by Commissioner Flores, and passed by a 5 - 0 vote to adopt Resolution 13 - 281 9 , ther e by approving the Conditiona l User Permit ( PLN - 13 - 00054 ) . 2 . PLN - 13 - 00007 : Conditional Use Permit Chairman Morales opened the public hearing for PLN - 13 - 00007 a request to expand into adjacent building (8210 Firestone Blvd) , add go - go dancers to the live entertainment activities all owed on this site , and remove four billiard tables from the mezzanine area . City Plan ner William Davis gave a PowerPoint presentation of his staff report recommending denial of the application. Mr. Davis stated that the Downey Police Department had expre ssed significant concern s regarding the proposed expansion due to a high number of calls for incidents at the location. He continued by stating there are Building Code issues regarding the fire resistance rating of the demising wall between the tenant spa ces which exist on the two , parcels, as well as the Planning Commission’s views expressed at the March 7 2012 , CUP request ( PLN - 12 - 00178 ) to add go - go dancers, which brought up concerns that the go - go dancers could be construed as an adult use and therefor e have a negative affect on the Downtown area. F or the purposes of the C ode, Commission er Flores asked for a definition of live entertainment. Mr. Davis responded by giving several examples such as DJ’s, singing/m usicians, Karaoke, and things other than piped in music. Vice Chairman Kiefer asked for the definition of adult or cabaret type of entertainment as it pertained to the code, and also questioned the issue of p arking as it pertained to the number required as of the previous CUP, and noted the stor age area was approved for the mezzanine with no public access. Mr. D avis responded with examples of adult/cabaret type entertainment such as scantily dressed individuals dancing in a lewd or lascivious manner. He continued by clarifying that the applicant had made revisions by placing the storage area on the main level thus reducing the need for additional parki ng. Commissioner Flores asked how opening the wall between the two buildings would create a fire hazard, to which Mr. Davis responded that the Bui lding C ode has special requirements for the two spaces because they are two separate parcels. - 3 - Planning Commission Minutes April 3, 2013 Commissioner Rodriguez requested clarification regarding the outside patio area at the face (north side) on the neighboring tenant space , and the $200 parking fee for additional parking spaces. Mr. Davis responded by giving a brief overview of the proposed area, and advised Commissioner Rodriguez that the applicants architect would be able to answer his questions in more detail. Mr. Davis continued by stating that the C ity has public parking available at an annual in - lieu parking fee of $200 per space for businesses who are unable to meet parking requirements due to space restrictions. Commissioner Kiefer asked how the offsite parking has been working, and Ch airman Morales asked if the shared parking is being utilized, to which Mr. Davis stated that to his knowledge it is working and is being utilized. Copies of the incident reports from Downey Police Department were distributed to the Commission and the appl icant for the presentation to follow. Downey Police Department Captain , Dean Milligan, began his presentation by stating that he was asked to speak to the Commission to give his recommendation in regards to the request for the expansion aspect. He stated that they are opposed to the expansion due to the number and types of calls received for this location. He continued by saying that the primary concern are the calls involving alcohol or physical assaults. E xpanding the bar would increase the capacity o f the business by approximately 20% , which would bring in more people and increase the number of c alls to the Police Department . The current capacity is 500. He is concerned because a Police Department of our size would have difficulty responding to a 20 % increase in the number of calls for this one location. Since January of 2012, the City has taken reports of nine ( 9 ) physical assaults, and two ( 2 ) rob beries, involving patrons inside the Club DB Lounge and in the parking lot. He made note that the numb er of calls presented are the bare minimum , as the calls noted are only those where the pa rties involved filed a report. T here are other calls where the parties involved did not follow through to complete the Police Report. Capt. Milligan continued by st ating that t here have been nine ( 9 ) calls in 2013, 38 calls in 2012, and a total of 91 calls since 2011; and with that, on the basis of the number of calls , he does not feel it would be in the best interest of the City to approve the application for expans ion. Chairman Morales asked if Capt. Milligan’ s concern is over the expansion, or over the entire application. Commissioner Rodriguez asked that if it would be our Police Department to enforce the issue of the bar having adult entertainment if the appli cation is denied . Capt. Milligan responded that he is responding only in regards to the portion of the expansion; he would not be involved in the other requests would not pertain to law enforcement; he expanded by saying that the P olice D epartment would e nforce conditions of the CUP, or items governed by the M unicipal C ode or S tate law. City Attorney, Yvette Abich - Garcia, stated that if they were operate an adult business under the City Code’s definition , there is a chapter in our C ode about regulating an adult business and could therefore fall under a land use issue which would be enforced by Community Development . Chairman Morales referred to the time table noting the majority of pronounced activity occurs after 1 :00 am , typically after the night club cl oses. Capt . Milligan explained that the times listed are at the hour the y we re reported, not the actual time of the occurrence. O ne example shown is the 5:00 am report, where as the parties came in after the fact stating that the incident they were at the club earlier that evening. Adel Bazzi , 8504 Firestone Blvd. Downey, AADD Plans and Construction, began his presentation by explaining the applicant’s number one reason for expansion is due to the high cost of operation during the week when the business t ends to be slow. His intent is to close down a large portion of the club and - 4 - Planning Commission Minutes April 3, 2013 keep only the smaller area of the expansion open during the week thus reducing his operating costs. A second reason is due to security issues, giving an example of a fight that occurred due to the size of the rest rooms , which the expansion would resolve, as well as the patio area giving his patrons a safe outdoor smoking area. He continued by addressing the number of incidents stating that over the past year, the percenta ge of calls have actually decreased and the applicant is working on increasing security and further reducing the number of incidents. He then explained that the increase in capacity would occur only on the weekends. After listening to the concern of Capta in Milligan, Mr. Bazzi spoke to the owner Hayk Gevorkyan and stated that he would be willing to revise his request by closing off 2 , 200 sq ft of the existing area, thereby revising the expansion to increase the total floor area by 600 sq. ft. This would k eep the allowed maximum capacity at 505 persons. Mr. Bazzi continued by addressing the issue of opening the wall between the two parcels by giving examples of buil ding codes that would allow the area to be opened. He then explained the importance of the go - go dancers to the business and stated that go - go danc ers are not adult entertainment; there is no touching involved and they merely motivate people to dance. H e stated that Mr. Gevorkyan would be willing to ha ve a dress code for the dancers. He also n oted his willingness to add conditions such as limiting the girls’ hours for two to four hours per night , stating that the dancers have a large part in motivating clientele to get on the dance floor. He also offered a trial period of six months to see if there is an increase in calls to the P olice D epartment . Vice Chairman Kiefer stated that Commission’s concern is with the dress code of the dancers and the dancing up on platforms, to which Mr. Bazzi responded by saying that they are dressed better than g irls on the beach or even some of their patrons with mini skirts. Commissioner Rodriguez asked what the current dress code is for the patrons, to which M r. Bazzi responded that they have a dress code that would not allow any gang type of dress. He strive s for more of a professional type atmosphere, and believes that this keeps the number of incidents down. However, Commissioner Rodriguez pointed out that the number of calls given w as a very conservative number. Chairman Morales asked where the majority of the patrons come from, to which Mr. Bazzi responded that they come from different areas including Downey. He continued by saying that they are not seeking negative people but do try to bring in people from other areas as most businesses would. Commiss ioner Lujan pointed out that if the patrons that are not dancing would actually be purchasing more alcoholic beve rages. Mr. Bazzi commented based on his personal experience, people on the dance floor are not easily intoxicated. Mansfield Collins, 3055 W ilshire Blvd., Ste 600, Los Angeles, spoke in favor of the application . Mr. Collins has known the applicant for several year s and feels that Mr. Gevorkyan has been in business at this location for 13 years and has gone through many changes in upgrading his business from a billiard room to an upscale night club as well as making changes to the parking lot as far as making it safer. He then addressed the issue of the go - go dancers, giving the idea of having professional dancers on the dance floors with appro priate attire to draw people to the dance floor. He concluded by saying the he believes the applicant should be given a chance to show that he can make it work without increasing incidents or negative effects to the city. Nejdeh Avedia , Ch arles Dunn Real Estate Services is the property manager representing Clara Levy Trust, property owners. He explained that they are under negotiations to lease the adjacent p arcel to the applicant and the difficulty in leasing the space as there is no rear exit on t he pa rcel. Without parking on Firestone, patrons would be required to park in the rear , and walk around the building. He feels that the applicant’s request to expand into this space would make a great deal of sense, - 5 - Planning Commission Minutes April 3, 2013 Commissioner Rodriguez commented that he would like to see more performance from the applicant first and overall is not comfortable with the request. He gave examples of the high number of calls placing a burden on our Police D epartment, and the go - go dancers not having a positive impression of the city. He believes that the applicant should first reduce the number of calls and make more efforts in improving the security issues by having the appropriate dress code and suggested valet parking as well as repair ing the parking lot now, and not making it a condition o f the application’s approval . He stated that he is happy with the idea of the applicant leasing the adjacent site and suggested that they should come back with a revised application for that portion of their request. Comm issioner L ujan agreed with Commissioner Rodriguez and also noted that he believes the applicant should revise his request to lease the adjacent space. He also believes the go - go dancers do not leave a good impression. Commissioner Flores agreed with his fellow Com missioners regarding the adj acent space, but had no issue with the go - go dancers ; however, he is concerned that the number of calls for incident s is not going down. Vice Chairman K iefer commented that visually Club DB Lounge has been an improvement; howev er, he cannot make the findi ngs to approve the CUP revision. The request is not in line with creating a family f riendly atmosphere for the Downtown Area . As to the request for go - go dancers, he is concerned that approving this portion of the application w ould allow other business to have them as well . Chairman Morales likes the idea of the patio area being opened up and believe s it would create an attraction f or more tenants to that space. H e does not have issue with go - go dancers ; howev er, given the tra ck records and the high number of incidents, he is in agreement with staff in denying the application. It was moved by Vice Chairman Kiefer, seconded by Commissioner Flores, and passed by a 5 - 0 vote, to adopt Resolution 13 - 2820 , thereby denying approval o f the Conditional User Permit ( PLN - 13 - 00007 ) . NON - AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENTS: None CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS: 3. Appr oval of the Minutes from March 20 , 2013 It was moved by Commissioner Rodriguez, se conded by Commissioner Flores, and passed by a 5 - 0 vote wit h Commissioner Lujan abstaining, to approve the Minutes of March 6, 2013 . OTHER BUSINESS: None. STAFF MEMBER COMMENTS: None. ADJOURNMENT: There being no furt her business to discuss, Chairman Morales adjourned the meeting at 9:20 p .m., to Wednesday, April 3 , 2013, at 6:30 p.m. at Downey City Hall, 11111 Brookshire Ave., - 6 - Planning Commission Minutes April 3, 2013 APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 17th day of April , 201 3 . Louis Morales, Chairman City Planning Commission I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Minutes were duly approve d at a Regular meeting of the Planning Commission held on the 17 th day of April , 2013 , by the following vote: AYE S: COMMISSIONERS: ABSENT: COMMISSIONERS: ABSTAIN: COMMISSIONERS: NOES: COMMISSIONERS: Mary Cavanagh, Secretary City Planning C ommission - 7 -