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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZ-8238 Staff AnalysisJULY 30, 2007 ITEM NO.: 3 File No.: Z-8238 Owner: David Hadidi Applicant: Jasen C. Chi Address: 5823 Kavanaugh Blvd. Description: Southeast corner of Kavanaugh Blvd. and N. Grant Street Zoned: C-3 Variance Requested: A variance is requested from the parking provisions of Section 36-502 to allow a restaurant use with reduced off-street parking. Justification: The applicant's justification is presented in an attached letter. Present Use of Property: Vacant Commercial Building Proposed Use of Property: Restaurant STAFF REPORT A. Public Works Issues: No Comments B. Staff Analysis: The C-3 zoned property at 5823 Kavanaugh Blvd. is occupied by a one story masonry commercial building. The property is located at the southeast corner of Kavanaugh Blvd. and N. Grant Street. The building is approximately 1,650 square feet in area and is part of a larger shopping center/commercial use area along the south side of Kavanaugh Blvd., extending from N. University Avenue to beyond N. Taylor Street to the west. The building previously housed retail -type commercial uses and has no off-street parking. There is on - street parking along both sides of Kavanaugh Blvd. from N. University Avenue westward. There is also on -street parking along N. Grant Street along the west side of the building as well as most of the other side streets in the area, including N. Pierce Street and "R" Street. The applicant proposes to convert the 1,650 square foot commercial space to a Japanese style restaurant. The restaurant will seat approximately 50 to 60 J U LY 30, 2007 ITEM NO.: 3 (CON'T.) persons with hours of operation from 11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. and 4:30 P.M. to 9:30 P.M., seven (7) days per week. Section 36-502(b)(3)a. of the City's Zoning Ordinance requires a minimum of five (5) off-street parking spaces for a 1,650 square foot retail use. Section 36- 502(b)(3)c. requires a minimum of 16 off-street spaces for a similar size restaurant use. Therefore, the applicant is required to provide 11 off-street parking spaces for the conversion of the retail space to a restaurant use (the difference between the number of spaces required for the restaurant use and the non -conforming parking requirement for the past retail use). The applicant is requesting a variance from this ordinance standard in order to have the restaurant use utilize the existing on -street parking in the area and provide no additional off-street spaces. The applicant conducted a parking study with respect to the 79 on -street parking spaces located along Kavanaugh Blvd., between N. University Avenue and N. Taylor Street and the four (4) spaces on N. Grant Street immediately west of the commercial building. The applicant's results are as follows: "Between University Avenue and Taylor Street, there are a total of 79 marked parking spaces on Kavanaugh Blvd. that exists immediately in front of this shopping center. In addition, there are 4 parking spaces on Grant Avenue. For the two week period starting June 4th and ending June 17th, 1 asked an individual to partake in a small study to count the number of those spaces occupied at specific times during each day. The results documented are as follows:" 11:30 12:30 1:30 5:30 7:30 June 4 23 48 33 12 8 June 5 27 41 37 10 10 June 6 31 49 45 8 6 June 7 24 54 51 14 11 June 8 22 44 39 16 18 June 9 23 16 11 9 10 June 10 6 6 4 1 4 June 11 24 37 24 11 9 June 12 21 41 31 12 11 June13 25 34 36 16 13 June 14 27 47 46 14 11 June15 22 39 29 14 7 June 16 19 10 6 9 8 June 17 4 11 2 2 7 In an attempt to verify the applicant's count, staff made a count of the same 83 parking spaces at 12:30 P.M. on July 16 and 17, 2007. On July 16 staff found that 48 of the spaces were occupied, and on July 17 there were 61 occupied spaces. Staff believes the applicant's results are accurate. J U LY 30, 2007 ITEM NO.: 3 (CON'T. Staff is supportive of the requested parking variance. Staff believes there is adequate on -street parking to serve the proposed restaurant use in conjunction with the other commercial and restaurant uses in the area. The applicant's parking study included only a portion of the overall amount of on - street parking in this general area north of Cantrell Road and east of N. University Avenue. If the study included additional streets within 2 to 4 blocks of the proposed restaurant, staff believes there would be similar results with regard to available on -street parking. In addition, the majority of the commercial buildings along the south side of Kavanaugh Blvd., east of N. University Avenue, were developed with very little or no off-street parking and have thrived as such (including restaurant uses) for a number of years. Staff believes the proposed restaurant use at 5823 Kavanaugh Blvd. will have no adverse impact on the parking situation in this general commercial area. C. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of the requested parking variance, subject to the variance being only for a restaurant use owned by Jasen C. Chi at 5823 Kavanaugh Blvd. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT: (J U LY 30, 2007) Jasen Chi was present, representing the application. There was one (1) person present in opposition. Staff presented the application with a recommendation of approval. Jasen Chi addressed the Board in support of the application. He explained the proposed restaurant use. He noted that the proposed restaurant would have no adverse impact on the parking situation in the area. He also noted that the restaurant needed to be open during the lunch hour to be a success. He stated that most of the neighbors supported the proposed restaurant use. Robert Winchester asked if most of the restaurant's business would be during the lunch or dinner hours. Mr. Chi explained that during the weekdays he expected the lunch business to be slightly more than the dinner business, possibly a 60/40 split. He noted during the weekend the night business would probably be greater. Nancy Wade addressed the Board in opposition. She noted that she owns three (3) buildings in the area. She explained that none of her buildings had off-street parking and explained her issue with the parking problems in the area. There was a brief discussion of the parking study conducted by Mr. Chi. James Van Dover commented on the issue of hardship with relation to the application. He noted that depriving the owner use of the property for which it is zoned created the hardship issue. He and Ms. Wade made additional comments related to the parking issue. J U LY 30, 2007 ITEM NO.: 3 (CON'T. Mr. Winchester noted that increased traffic in the area related to the proposed restaurant would create additional business traffic for other businesses in the area. There was a motion to approve the application, as recommended by staff. The motion passed by a vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays and 1 absent., The application was approved.