TO: PLANNING COMMISSION
FROM: DAVID CRABTREE, INTERIM COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
DATE: OCTOBER 20, 2026
SUBJECT:
Title
REQUEST TO AMEND CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (FILE #12-C02AMD2) TO ALLOW FOR THE EXPANSION OF AN EXISTING RESTAURANT, PETISCOS, INCLUDING ON-SITE SALE AND CONSUMPTION OF A FULL-LINE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES (DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL TYPE-47 FULL LIQUOR LICENSE) IN CONJUNCTION WITH A BONA-FIDE EATING ESTABLISHMENT LOCATED AT 211 AND 215 WEST FIRST STREET. APPLICANT - ISIDRO GUTIERREZ
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SUMMARY
Applicant Isidro Gutierrez and property owner Laura Cayley have proposed expanding Petiscos restaurant, located at 211 West First Street, to incorporate 1,868 square feet of interior floor area located at 215 West First Street. The space was previously occupied by a portion of Jax Bicycles and is currently vacant. The expansion would provide space for indoor dining, a bar area, additional bathrooms, and additional storage for the restaurant, which currently is limited to outdoor dining only. The expansion of the alcohol use requires approval of an amendment to Petiscos’ existing Conditional Use Permit (CUP) (File #’s 12-C02 and 12-C02AMD), which regulates the existing outdoor dining and alcohol beverage service portions of the restaurant. The area to be incorporated into the restaurant includes only the one-story portion of the previous bicycle shop, not the two-story building (219 West First Street). The proposal is for full alcohol service (Type 47 ABC License) and only in conjunction with a bona fide public eating-place.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the Planning Commission:
Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE CLAREMONT PLANNING COMMISSION APPROVING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT #12-C02AMD2, TO ALLOW FOR THE EXPANSION OF AN EXISTING RESTAURANT INCLUDING ON-SITE SALE AND CONSUMPTION OF A FULL-LINE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES (DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL TYPE-47 FULL LIQUOR LICENSE) IN CONJUNCTION WITH A BONA-FIDE EATING ESTABLISHMENT LOCATED AT 211 AND 215 WEST FIRST STREET. APPLICANT - ISIDRO GUTIERREZ; and
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 the recommendation, there are the following alternatives:
A. Continue the item for additional information.
B. Approve the expanded use with additional or revised Conditions of Approval.
C. Express an intent to deny CUP #12-C02AMD2 in its entirety, specifically identifying the findings of Section 16.303.040 of the CMC that cannot be met, and continue the item to November 3, 2026, for adoption of a denial resolution.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
City costs associated with the review of this application have been borne by the applicant.
ANALYSIS
Background
Petiscos is a locally owned Mexican cantina style restaurant that has operated out of the existing building located at 211 West First Street since 2013. The restaurant’s kitchen currently occupies the site’s small historic structure with the surrounding open area of the lot serving as outdoor dining area. An accessory bathroom structure located near the rear of the property was constructed shortly after the restaurant was originally approved. The original CUP for the restaurant, 12-C02 (Attachment B), was approved in 2012 and provided for the outdoor dining as well as the sale and service of beer and wine only. In 2025, an amendment to the CUP, 12-C02AMD (Attachment C), was approved to allow for the sale and service of a full line of alcoholic beverages including beer, wine, and distilled spirits.
The original restaurant site, 211 West First Street, is a rectangular property approximately 2,793-square feet in size and located near the northwest corner of Harvard Avenue and West First Street. The proposed expansion will occupy the adjacent building located at 215 West First Street and located immediately west of the original site; on a similarly sized lot. A fenced yard area located north of the 215 building is not a part of the proposed expansion. A new opening, in the east wall of the 215 building is proposed to allow direct access from the original restaurant and outdoor dining area into the interior dining and new bar area. Because 211 and 215 are currently located on separate parcels, the lots must be merged before this opening can be created due to fire code restrictions related to property line separation. A condition requiring the lot merger is included in the draft resolution (Attachment A), and the applicant has agreed to merge the lots prior to creating the proposed opening. The project plans, including the proposed site, floor plans, and elevations are attached (Attachment D).
This Petiscos site is located in the Claremont Village (CV) zoning district, which is intended to encourage a complementary mix of small-scale retail stores, commercial services, restaurants, offices, and civic uses within a small-town, pedestrian-oriented district. The property has a corresponding General Plan designation of Claremont Village. Located in the heart of the Village, uses surrounding the subject property include the 217/219 West First Street, a two-story historic commercial building previously occupied on the first floor by Jax Bicycle Shop, Finney’s Restaurant to the north, the Claremont Depot to the south, and a small retail building, and parking lot to the east.
Constructed in 1887, the original Petiscos building is one of the oldest structures in the City and is listed on the Register Site of Historic and Architectural Merit in Claremont (Claremont Register). The structure was originally constructed as a real estate office and then became the second ticket office for the Pacific Electric Railroad. While the 215 building is not currently listed on the Claremont Register, it was constructed in 1905 and served as part of Claremont’s original retail core directly adjacent to the rail station. The structure is identified as a “Significant Building” in the Claremont Village Design Plan and should be treated as a historic resource until the building’s historic status can be fully vetted by the Architectural and Preservation Commission.
The Claremont Municipal Code (CMC) requires that: “the on-site sale of alcoholic beverages shall be permitted in the CV District only in conjunction with a bona fide public eating place, as defined in the State Business and Professions Code (Business and Professions Code Section 23038) and with approval of a conditional use permit pursuant to Chapter 16.303. Such eating place shall make meals available to patrons at all times when serving alcoholic beverages. "Meals" means the usual assortment of foods commonly ordered at various hours of the day; the service of such food and victuals only as sandwiches or salads shall not be deemed a compliance with this requirement.” (CMC Section 16.060.010.D).
Project Description
The existing restaurant consists of the historic 244 square foot 211 West First Street building, the existing 166 square foot bathroom structure, and the associated outdoor seating area which is approximately 460 square feet. All the available seating for customers is located outside secured by six-foot high wood fencing and landscaping features. The proposed expansion incorporates the adjacent tenant space for indoor dining, bar, restrooms and storage as summarized in the table below. For additional information, please see the proposed floor plan included in Attachment C.
The food menu of the restaurant will not change; however, the new bar area allows for an expanded beverage menu. The proposed beverage menu (Attachment E) includes a mix of beer, wine, and Mexican-style mixed drinks.
The applicant has requested the following hours which are expanded from the previous hours:
Proposed Hours of Operation (Restaurant/kitchen):
• Saturday and Sunday 8:00 AM - 10:00 PM
• Monday - Friday 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Proposed Hours of Beverage Service:
• Monday - Sunday 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM
The previous hours extended from 8:00 AM until 8:00 PM on weekdays and Sunday, and 8:00 AM until 9:00 PM on Friday and Saturday. Attachment F includes a detailed listing of all proposed hours of operation, by day of week, for clarity.
No new signage or significant exterior changes to either property are proposed at this time. The applicant will submit plans for proposed exterior signage at a later time. A minor revision to the storefront windows in the alcove of the 215 building is proposed and subject to design review by the Planning Division, if this CUP Amendment is approved by the Planning Commission.
Parking
Generally, restaurants have higher parking demand than retail uses. The Claremont Village zoning district recognizes this and requires additional parking for restaurants. As of January 1, 2023, AB 2097 prohibits cities from imposing a minimum automobile parking requirement for this project because the project site is located within a half-mile radius of a major transit stop. The subject site is situated directly across the street from the Claremont Depot, which meets the definition of a major transit stop. Despite the state limitation on parking requirements, staff notes that the expanded restaurant remains modest in size, is likely to serve patrons and workers already in the Village for other uses, and is surrounded by public parking lots to the north (mid-block parking), south (First Street Median) and to the east (in the Metrolink parking lot). Therefore, staff does not anticipate that the proposed restaurant expansion with alcohol service will cause significant parking issues.
BASIS FOR RECOMMENDATION
Approval of any CUP or CUP amendment requires that the Planning Commission make several findings set forth in Section 16.303.040 of the CMC. The draft resolution (Attachment A) describes how each of these findings can be made regarding the proposed restaurant expansion, including service of alcoholic beverages. Staff believes that expanding the restaurant to introduce indoor seating will vastly improve the restaurant’s ability to serve its customers regardless of weather conditions, that the expansion will be a positive addition to the mix of uses in the Claremont Village, and that the reuse of the currently vacant tenant space will reinvigorate a historic commercial structure. The project’s conditions of approval listed in the resolution provide for the orderly and historically sensitive modification of the property and also gives the City authority to revoke the CUP if current or future operators violate regulations or any condition(s) of approval. The alcohol service also is subject to operating conditions set by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), which regulates and monitors the manner in which alcoholic beverages are sold.
CEQA REVIEW
The proposed project, approval of a Amended CUP to allow alcohol sales and service for a proposed expansion of an existing restaurant in an existing tenant space, is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(a) (Class 1) for operation and minor alterations to existing facilities, in that the project entails the leasing and operation of an existing tenant space within an existing retail structure and includes only minor alterations involving new doors and interior partitions. Because the structure may warrant listing on the Register of Structures of Historical and Architectural Merit of the City of Claremont, a condition has been added to require that all modifications to the structure be reviewed by Planning Division staff for consistency with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and issued a Certificate of Appropriateness prior to issuance of a building permit. Therefore, no further environmental review is required.
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
The agenda and staff report for this item has been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a paper copy, please contact Nhi Atienza at natienza@claremontca.gov.
As a courtesy, notice of this meeting was mailed to the owners of properties within 300 feet of the subject property and the site was posted on October 8, 2026. In addition, a legal ad regarding this meeting was published in the Claremont Courier on October 9, 2026. A copy of this report has been sent to the applicant and other interested parties.
Submitted by: Prepared by:
David Crabtree Christopher Veirs
Interim Community Development Director City Planner
Attachments:
A - Draft Resolution
B - CUP #12-C02, Resolution #2012-05A
C - CUP #12-C02AMD, Resolution#2025-04
D - Proposed Plans for Petiscos Expansion
E - Petiscos Beverage Menu
F - Hours of Operation