TO: PLANNING COMMISSION
FROM: BRAD JOHNSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
DATE: JULY 16, 2024
SUBJECT:
Title
REQUEST FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (FILE #24-C02, TO ALLOW FOR THE SALE OF A FULL-LINE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE (DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL TYPE-47 FULL LIQUOR LICENSE) IN CONJUNCTION WITH A BONA-FIDE EATING ESTABLISHMENT IN AN EXISTING RESTAURANT SPACE LOCATED AT 129 NORTH HARVARD AVENUE. APPLICANT - MENEMSHA SOLUTIONS (ON BEHALF OF FINNEY’S CRAFTHOUSE & KITCHEN).
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SUMMARY
Menemsha Solutions, the applicant, has submitted an application for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow for the sale and service of a full-line of alcoholic beverages for onsite consumption (with a California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Type-47 liquor license) in conjunction with a new bona-fide eating establishment, Finney’s Crafthouse & Kitchen (Finney’s). The restaurant is proposed for the vacant building located at 129 North Harvard Avenue, which was previously occupied by The Press Restaurant until it ceased operating in 2020. In addition to reactivating the vacant restaurant space, the applicant has proposed a 763-square-foot second-story addition over the rear portion of the existing building, itself an addition, to create an additional kitchen storage area (no public access). The restaurant’s ground floor would be 3,800 square feet in size, including a dining area of approximately 1,361 square feet and a bar area of approximately 306 square feet. Additionally, the applicant has proposed renovating the building’s front façade. The applicant has proposed hours of operation from 10:00 AM until midnight daily. Finney’s Crafthouse & Kitchen is a family-owned American tavern style restaurant with 14 existing locations across Southern California.
Staff believes that all of the required CUP findings can be met by the project and that the new restaurant, with alcohol service will positively contribute to the dynamic mix of uses in the Claremont Village and add to the district’s vibrancy by reactivating the existing restaurant space. The applicant has proposed a thoughtfully designed restaurant concept operated by an experienced team that will contribute to Harvard Avenue and the Village as a whole for Claremont’s residents and visitors alike.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission:
A. Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF CLAREMONT APPROVING A REQUEST FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (FILE #24-C02), TO ALLOW FOR THE SALE OF A FULL-LINE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE (DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL TYPE-47 FULL LIQUOR LICENSE) IN CONJUNCTION WITH A BONA-FIDE EATING ESTABLISHMENT IN AN EXISTING RESTAURANT SPACE LOCATED AT 129 NORTH HARVARD AVENUE. APPLICANT - MENEMSHA SOLUTIONS (FINNEY’S CRAFTHOUSE AND KITCHEN); and
B. Find this item is exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
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ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to staff’s recommendation, the following alternatives have been identified:
A. Continue the item for additional information; or
B. Express an intent to deny CUP #24-C02 in its entirety, specifically identifying the findings of Sections 16.060.030.B and 16.303.040 of the CMC that cannot be met and continue the item to July 16, 2024 for adoption of a denial resolution.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Costs associated with the review of this application have been borne by the applicant.
ANALYSIS
Background
The project site is a rectangular property of approximately 3,392 square feet located on the west side of Harvard Avenue between First Street and Second Street. A pedestrian alley abuts the property to the south and provides access from the Harvard Avenue sidewalk to the City-owned parking lot to the west of the property. The property has a zoning designation of Claremont Village Overlay District (CVO) and a corresponding General Plan designation of Claremont Village (CV). Surrounding uses include a pharmacy in the adjacent building to the north, a salon across the alley to the south, a barber shop and bakery to the east across Harvard Avenue, and the City-owned surface parking lot to the east.
The site is developed with a one-story building of approximately 3,800 square feet. The building occupies the entirety of the property, right up to property lines. Built in 1929, the property is listed in the City’s Register of Structures of Historic and Architectural Merit (Register). The survey form for the property describes how the building was built for the Claremont Courier’s printing offices and identifies character-defining features of the Spanish Revival building as its clay tile roof, ornately carved, exposed roof beam, and multilight and single-light windows trimmed with glazed ceramic hand-painted tile. On July 10, 2024, the Architectural and Preservation Commission voted unanimously to approve Architectural and Site Plan Review file #24-A02 modifications to the building associated with the new restaurant.
The Claremont Municipal Code (CMC) requires that restaurants obtain approval of a CUP for on-site sales of alcohol in conjunction with food service (CMC Section 16.051.020). Well-loved local restaurant, The Press occupied the building for years prior to ceasing operations in 2020. CUP file #95-C04 approved the sale and service of a full-line of alcoholic beverages for the prior restaurant use and set forth conditions of approval for the restaurant’s operation. These conditions included limitations on the restaurant’s daytime occupancy due to the lack of on-site parking and the 13-space parking credit based on the Village Parking Study. The CUP allowed for the full use and occupancy of the restaurant after 5:30 PM when other Village businesses closed and additional parking was available. Because The Press restaurant closed in 2020, and due to the differences between the prior restaurant’s operations and the applicant’s proposed operations, approval of a new CUP is necessary.
Project Description
The applicant, Menemsha Studios, represents Brad Finefrock, the owner of Finney’s Crafthouse & Kitchen and the owner of the subject property. Finney’s is a family-owned American tavern-style restaurant with 14 locations ranging from Oceanside and Laguna Beach to the south and Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo to the north. The restaurant serves prepared-from-scratch food that is paired with a wide selection of craft beers and handcrafted cocktails. Finney’s prides itself on being able to provide a comfortable and inviting gastropub environment, which is supported by the stylish, historic feeling of their locations; a number of which are also located in historic buildings. Finney’s food and drink menu is provided as Attachment C.
The below bullet points summarize Finney’s proposal for 129 North Harvard Avenue:
• The sale and service of a full-line of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption in conjunction with a bona-fide restaurant having a full-service kitchen at all times alcohol is being served.
• 2,090-square foot interior dining area and a 306-square foot bar area with a total of 128 seats.
• 799-square foot kitchen and 469-square foot kitchen storage area on the ground floor.
• New 763-square foot second-story addition over the rear of the building to provide more kitchen storage area. There will be no public access to this portion of the building.
• Hours of operation:
o 10:00 AM - Midnight, daily
• Employees: 12 employees per shift
The site plan, floor plan, elevations, and renderings (Attachment B) show the interior and exterior changes proposed for the building in conjunction with the introduction of the new restaurant. On the exterior of the building, the applicant has proposed remodeling the front façade to relocate the restaurant’s entry and vestibule southwards to the southeast corner of the building. The entry vestibule would be considerably smaller than the existing entry patio area. In relocating the entry patio to the south, the applicant is able to propose bringing a row of seating all the way up against the building’s Harvard Avenue windows. The applicant has proposed installing operable folding windows that would fold inwards to create a seamless transition between the restaurant’s dining area and the Harvard Avenue streetscape. The proposal maintains the existing transom windows above the existing window spaces and would create matching transom windows for new window openings along Harvard Avenue.
On the south side of the building, the applicant has proposed relocating an existing southern entrance to the building, which provides an ADA-accessible entrance to the restaurant. The existing ADA ramp and entry no longer meet Building Code requirements, necessitating the relocation of the entry to the east and the construction of a new Code-compliant ramp. Both the existing and proposed ramp are located on City-owned property in the existing alley. The applicant has also proposed constructing an addition of 763-square feet over the rear portion of the existing single-story building, which itself is an addition to the original 1929 structure. The second story addition would provide additional kitchen storage area and features a straightforward utilitarian design. There would be no public access to the second-story addition.
Finally, the applicant is required to construct a new trash enclosure at the rear of the building. The trash enclosure would be approximately 300-square feet, would be built to the City’s current trash enclosure specifications, and would be able to be used by both Finney’s and the surrounding businesses, consolidating and streamlining how trash, food waste, and recycling are handled on the Village block between First Street and Second Street and Harvard Avenue and Yale Avenue. Like the ADA-ramp, the enclosure would be constructed on City property. Section 3.I of the draft approval resolution (Attachment A) requires the applicant to enter into an agreement with the City for the construction of these improvements on public property.
Parking
As noted earlier in this report, the entirety of the subject property is occupied by the existing building, which is built out to the property lines. The subject property is allocated a parking credit of 13 spaces and previous and future users of the building must rely on public parking available on-street and in City-owned parking lots at the interior of the block. Pursuant to CMC Section 16.060.030.A, the parking requirement for restaurants in the Claremont Village Overlay (CVO) District is one parking space for each 150 square feet of net indoor dining area. With an interior dining area of approximately 1,727 square feet (dining room, bar, and foyer), there is a parking requirement of 12 spaces associated with the new restaurant. With that being said, AB 2097, a State law that went into effect on January 1, 2023, prohibits jurisdictions from enforcing minimum parking requirements for projects located within a ½-mile of a Major Transit stop, such as Claremont Metrolink station. In either case, Finney’s customers and employees must rely on public parking resources. Section 3.H of the draft approval requires that Finney’s employees park in the nearby Metrolink lot at the southeast corner of the intersection of First Street and College Avenue so as to maintain available parking for Finney’s customers and other patrons of Village businesses.
BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATION
The approval of a CUP requires that the Planning Commission make certain findings as set forth in Section 16.303.040 of the CMC. Staff has determined that all the findings can be made to allow the on-site sale of alcohol for Finney’s as identified in the draft resolution (Attachment A). Staff believes that Finney’s will be a positive addition to the vibrant mix of uses found in the Claremont Village and that it will contribute to its synergy. Staff finds that, with a strong restaurant concept and a proven operational team, Finney’s will be able to breathe new life into and reactivate the former restaurant space for the benefit of Claremont residents and visitors alike.
CEQA REVIEW
The Community Development Director has determined that the project under review is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (Class 1) for existing facilities, in that the project entails the continuation and minor expansion of a previously existing use within a private structure involving a negligible expansion of use beyond that which currently exists. While the project entails interior and exterior modifications to a building that is listed on the Register of Structures of Historic and Architectural Merit of the City of Claremont, the exception to the Categorical Exemption pertaining to historic resources (Section 15300.2) does not apply as the modifications to the building are designed so as to avoid a substantial adverse change in the significance of the historic resource. Further, the proposed changes to the building will be reviewed by the Architectural and Preservation Commission and all findings for issuing a Certificate of Appropriateness for the project will be required to be made prior to approving the final project design. Therefore, no further environmental review is necessary.
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
The agenda and staff report for this item have been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a copy, please contact Nhi Atienza at natienza@ci.claremont.ca.us.
On Thursday, June 20, 2024 the property was posted and written notices were mailed to property owners within 300 feet of the boundaries of the site. Notice of the Planning Commission hearing was also published in the June 21, 2024 edition of the Claremont Courier. Copies of this staff report have been sent to the applicant and other interested parties. Due to a lack of quorum, the Planning Commission did not conduct a public hearing on July 2, 2024, where the proposed CUP was scheduled to be reviewed. The CMC and Government Code Sections 65091 and 65094 do not require renotification of the public hearing that has been rescheduled to a date certain. Regardless the subject site was posted with notice of the public hearing on July 11, 2024.
Submitted by: Submitted by:
Brad Johnson Christopher Veirs
Community Development Director Principal Planner
Prepared by:
Nikola Hlady
Senior Planner
Attachments:
A - Draft Resolution Approving Conditional Use Permit #24-C02
B - Site Plan, Floor Plans, and Elevations
C - Finney’s Kitchen & Crafthouse Food and Beverage Menu