HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-6459 Staff AnalysisMarch 9, 1998
Item No.: A
File No.:
Owner:
Address:
Description:
Zoned:
variance Requested:
Justification:
Present Use of Property:
Proposed Use of Property:
Staff Report:
A. Public Works Issues:
Z-6459
Nancy Hall Dutton/
The Mehlburger Firm, applicant
5923 Kavanaugh Blvd.
West 68 feet of Lots 10, 11 and 12,
Block 8, Mountain Park
C-3
A variance is requested from the
off-street parking provisions of
Section 36-502.
This site has a long history of use
as various commercial uses with
reduced parking.
one story commercial building
housing a beauty salon, a jewelry
store and vacant space
Same with coffee shop to occupy the
vacant space.
1. Repair any curb and gutter or sidewalk that is damaged
in the public right-of-way prior to occupancy.
2. Appropriate handicap ramps will be required per current
ADA standards.
3. All driveways shall be concrete aprons per City
ordinance.
4. Remove the stair structure labeled "deck" on the survey
or apply for a franchise agreement through Public Works
Department.
5. The driveway onto Kavanaugh Boulevard must a right turn
out only.
6. Plans of all work in right-of-way shall be submitted for
approval prior to start of work.
B. Staff Analysis:
The C-3 zoned property located at 5923 Kavanaugh Blvd. is
currently occupied by a single building containing a beauty
salon, a small jewelry store and an area of vacant space
that was previously occupied by Hall Drug Store. Satellite
March 9, 1998
Item No.: A Cont.
Coffee proposes to occupy the vacant space. The remainder
of the property is completely paved and has parking space
for 15 vehicles. Under the previous occupancy mix, the site
had a parking requirement of 11 spaces. With the conversion
of the former drug store space into a coffee shop, the
parking requirement increases to 23 spaces. Approximately
1,472 square feet of the building is occupied by the beauty
salon and the jewelry store. The remaining 1,918± square
feet is proposed to be used by Satellite Coffee.
Satellite Coffee's hours of operation would be 7:00 a.m. -
9:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 7:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.,
Friday and Saturday and 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., Sunday.
Renovations to accommodate Satellite Coffee would include a
drive-thru window and a patio area. Seating is proposed for
32 persons. The primary focus of the business will be take-
out.
The property is located at the western edge of the Heights
Commercial district and, as is true of almost every business
in the area, does not have sufficient on-site parking to
allow the proposed use. If the vacant space were proposed
to be occupied by another retail use, parking would not be
brought into question. It is the conversion of retail space
to restaurant space that generates the Ordinance requirement
for additional parking spaces.
Staff does have concerns about the proposed 8 space parking
variance. As the Board is aware, the parking requirement
established by City Ordinance is typically a minimum. This
particular restaurant is required to have 19 on-site parking
spaces. That 19 space requirement is supposed to be
sufficient for employees, dine -in customers at the 32 seats
and take-out customers. As was mentioned earlier, the
property is located at the western end of the Heights
Commercial district. Most of the other businesses in the
district rely on the availability of on -street parking. In
the case of this site, there is little, readily accessible
on -street parking. No parking is allowed on University
Avenue which runs on the western side of the site. On
street parking ends on Kavanaugh Blvd. west of University.
The only readily available parking in this block of
Kavanaugh is shared by other established businesses in the
area. If this business were located further to the east,
where there was greater access to on -street parking, staff
might be more supportive of the request. As it is, staff
feels that allowing the requested parking variance would
unduly burden the already limited availability of on -street
parking in the area.
C. Staff Recommendation:
Staff recommends denial of the requested parking variance.
K
March 9, 1998
Item No.• A Cont.
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: (FEBRUARY 23, 1998)
The applicant was present. There were no objectors present.
Gary Langlais abstained on this item. Due to a lack of a quorum
caused by 3 open positions, 1 member absent and 1 member
abstaining, the Board could not act on this issue. The applicant
asked about the possibility of scheduling a special meeting. He
was told that a special meeting could possibly be scheduled for
March 9, 1998 and that staff would look into it.
BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: SPECIAL CALLED MEETING (MARCH 9, 1998)
Gary Langlais announced that he no longer had a conflict of
interest since he was no longer employed by The Mehlburger Firm.
After a brief discussion, Deputy City Attorney Stephen Giles
determined that there was no conflict and Mr. Langlais did not
have to abstain.
Frank Riggins and Rodney Ely were present representing the issue.
There were no objectors present. One telephone call had been
received from a resident of Normandy Street expressing concern
that restaurant customers might park on her residential street.
Mr. Riggins addressed the Board and described the proposed use.
He stated that very few businesses in the Heights area had
adequate on-site parking. Mr. Riggins made note of other
restaurants in the area which did not have the required number of
parking spaces. He stated that there was support for this
proposed use from area residents and business owners. Mr.
Riggins concluded by stating that the 15 on-site spaces would be
adequate since there was on -street parking in the area.
Rodney Ely, owner of Satellite Coffee Express, addressed the
Board. He presented a letter of support from the Heights
Merchants and Professionals Association. He also presented
photographs and documentation showing the availability of parking
at 8:00 a.m., 12:00 noon and 7:00 p.m. for a period of one week.
Mr. Ely stated that his study showed that there was adequate
parking available in the area during his busiest hours in the
morning and the evening. He stated that there was on -street
parking available even at 12:00 noon, which would not be his high
traffic time. Mr. Ely stated that his busiest hours would be in
the early morning, prior to other businesses in the area opening,
and after 5:00 p.m., when most of the other businesses in the
area had closed.
Mr. Riggins stated that there would be adequate parking available
either on the site or on the street during the coffee shop's
busiest hours.
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March 9, 1998
Item No.: A Cont.
Mr. Ely commented that most businesses in the Heights area shared
parking facilities, especially in the evening when there was no
conflict.
Chairman Brooks asked if businesses could be prohibited from
parking on residential streets, as was mentioned in the telephone
call from the resident of Normandy Street. Staff responded that,
unless the Traffic Engineer marked a street as "no parking", any
person was allowed to park on the street.
In response to a question from Brandon Rogers, Mr. Ely stated
that there would be limited seating for perhaps 12 people on the
patio area.
Ramsay Ball addressed the Board in support of the item. He
stated that a "hamburger stand" previously occupied an area of
the building. Mr. Ball stated that the Heights Merchants
Association, those most affected by a parking variance, had
written in support of the proposed coffee shop.
In response to a question from William Ruck, Mr. Ely stated that
his was a coffee oriented business. He stated that the largest
volume of customers would come in the morning. Mr. Ely stated
that he would also serve limited sandwiches and soups at lunch
but that he did not expect to have a large church crowd.
Chairman Brooks asked Mr. Ely to speculate on the number of
customers he expected at the 3 times of day documented in Mr.
Ely's study. Mr. Ely responded that he expected 100 customers in
the morning, 50 at lunch and 100 in the evening.
In response to a question from staff, Mr. Ely stated that the
patio area would be located at the northeast corner of the
building and would be no larger than 10 feet by 12 feet. He
stated that he would put something similar to a short, iron fence
around the patio seating area. He and Mr. Riggins presented a
copy of the site plan showing the proposed patio area. Bruce
Kemmet, of Public Works, stated that the patio area seemed
alright, as proposed. Mr. Kemmet stated that he would work with
the applicant to address that issue, to assure that no sight -
distance hazard occurred.
In response to a question from William Ruck, Mr. Ely stated that
there would be no external changes to the building.
In response to a question from Gary Langlais, Mr. Riggins
confirmed that the parking spaces would be striped as shown on
the plan.
A motion was made to approve the requested parking variance
subject to compliance with Public Works Comments and subject to
an approved site plan showing the proposed patio seating area.
The motion was approved by a vote of 5 ayes, 0 noes and 0 absent.
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