HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning Commission 2012-05-15 #2 CITY OF
Community Development Department – Planning Division
P. O. Box 151560, San Rafael, CA 94915-1560
PHONE: (415) 485-3085/FAX: (415) 485-3184
Meeting Date: May 15, 2012
Agenda Item:
Case Numbers:
UP12-009
Project Planner:
Steve Stafford - 458-5048
REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
SUBJECT: 1930 Fourth Street – Request for a Use Permit to allow the establishment and
operation of a 1,500 square foot, public/quasi public assembly use (religious institution)
on the ground floor of an existing two-story, 5,200 square foot, commercial/office
building. The proposed church use would principally operate reciprocal to the current
office uses on the site (i.e., outside ‘normal’ business hours) and would share existing
fifteen (15) parking spaces on-site. The Use Permit includes a remote parking
arrangement given that the site and the adjacent site (1924 Fourth Street) are commonly
owned and the proposed church use would have exclusive access to an additional
seventeen (17) parking spaces during the days and hours of operation; APN: 010-291-
50; Commercial/Office (C/O) District; Fred Divine, owner; Henry Deleon, applicant; File
No: UP12-009.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The key issue with this project is whether the Commission finds that there is adequate parking on-site for
the proposed church use and whether it can support a reciprocal parking arrangement for the sharing of
the on-site common parking area. The site is developed with 15 off-street parking spaces. The existing
office and commercial tenants, primarily maintain normal business hours (8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Mondays
through Fridays). However, the proposed hours of operation for the church use and the existing hours of
operation for the commercial tenant (“Sun Company Tanning”) partially conflict; whereby, the church use
has lease language providing exclusive access to 17 additional off-street parking spaces, located on an
adjacent, commonly-owned parcel (1924 Fourth Street), during the church’s proposed hours of operation
(i.e., outside normal business hours – before 8 a.m. and after 5 p.m., weekdays, and on weekends). The
existing office tenants at the adjacent parcel (1924 Fourth Street), include the owner’s architectural firm
(“Fred Divine Architects”) and also primarily maintain normal business hours. The proposed, 1,500 sq. ft.
church use requires 8 spaces, based on its current 33 member congregation. Under the CBC (California
Building Code), the proposed church use would have a maximum occupancy of 49, which would require
12 parking spaces under the Zoning Ordinance. A ‘seating plan’ submitted with the Use Permit
application indicates a maximum seating capacity of 40 in the ‘Sanctuary” of the church, which would
require ten (10) off-street parking spaces. Both the commercial tenant and the church have leased rights
to four (4) dedicated off-street parking spaces each and share the remaining seven (7) unassigned off-
street parking spaces. The owner believes the site provides adequate parking for the church use given
the proposed days and hours of operation will be before and after normal business hours on weekdays
and on weekends.
After a review of the materials and comments from the City Traffic Engineer, staff recommends that the
on-site parking, together with the available remote parking on the adjacent, common-owned parcel, is
adequate and appropriate.
REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION - Case No: UP12-009 Page 2
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Planning Commission adopt the attached Resolution approving the project
with conditions.
PROPERTY FACTS
Address/Location: 1930 Fourth Street Parcel Number: 010-291-50
Property Size: 9,750 sq. ft. Neighborhood: West End
Site Characteristics
General Plan Designation Zoning Designation Existing Land-Use
Project Site: Retail/Office (RET/O) Commercial/Office (C/O) Office/Commercial
North: Medium Density Residential
(MDR)
Medium Density Residential (MR3) Bayo Vista
Apartments
South: High Density Residential (HDR) High Density Residential (HR1.8) Commercial/Office/
Multifamily residential
East: RET/O C/O Office building
West: RET/O C/O Office/Commercial/
Light Industrial
Site Description/Setting:
The project site is located along the north side of Fourth Street in the West End neighborhood, west of
Downtown. It’s located on the “Miracle Mile”, a predominantly commercial area along a separated
roadway corridor extending from Downtown to western portions of Marin County. The site is a
rectangular-shaped, relatively flat (approximately 11% up-slope from street elevation), 9,750 square-foot,
parcel. It is developed with an inverted and backwards L-shaped, concrete block, commercial office
building. The building is a story-and-a-half, with approximately 3,000 square feet located on the ground
floor and approximately 2,200 square feet located on the partial upper-floor at the rear of the parcel. The
site is also developed with 15, off-street parking spaces, three of which are ‘carport’ parking spaces that
are covered by the rear upper-floor of the building. An exterior staircase, opposite the parking area,
connects the ground and upper floors.
Nearly all of the building is divided up for, and historically used as, office space, much of it which is
currently vacant. A commercial tenant, “Sun Company Tanning”, occupies approximately 1,500 square
feet on the ground-floor along the street front. It operates ten tanning beds. While the office tenants
typically operate during normal business hours (8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday), the tanning salon
operates 8 a.m. – 10 p.m., Monday – Thursday, and 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., weekends.
BACKGROUND
A review of the permit file history by Planning staff reveals that the site was originally developed as
offices in 1947. From the 1950s through the 1970s, the entire site was used as medical offices by Kaiser
Permanente. In 1979, the first commercial use (“Computerland of Marin”) began occupying the ground
floor tenant space along the street front. In 1991, a ‘take-out’ restaurant (“Cenario’s Pizza & Pasta”)
began occupying this commercial space. Since 1995, Sun Company Tanning has been the commercial
tenant. The remaining building area has remained office space.
REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION - Case No: UP12-009 Page 3
Beginning in 1991, the owner, Fred Divine Architects, was an office tenant on the site until purchasing
the adjacent building at 1924 Fourth Street and relocating his professional practice there sometime later.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The project proposes to convert 1,500 square feet of ground-floor office space, located behind the street
front commercial tenant (“Sun Company Tanning”) to a religious institution use. The existing floor plan of
proposed church includes partitioned offices, copy room, storage, restroom, kitchen and a 600 square
foot “Sanctuary”, where religious services are to be conducted.
The proposed church use would operate primary services in the “Sanctuary” portion of the tenant space,
on Wednesday evenings, from 7:30 – 9 p.m., and Sunday mornings, from 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. These
primary services would include amplified music and singing. The current congregation membership is 33,
while the layout of the proposed seating plan, as reviewed by both the City’s Building Official and the
Deputy Fire Marshal, shows 40 seats and the maximum occupancy for the tenant space is 49. Ancillary
uses to the church use include prayer meetings for small groups of up to 10 people on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Sunday mornings, from 5 - 6 a.m., and occasional ‘fellowship gatherings” to be
conducted in the Sanctuary immediately after the religious services, providing ‘coffee and conversation’
and ending one-half (½) hour after each religious service. The offices for the church use would operate
during normal business hours on weekdays and, occasionally, on weekends.
Access to the ground-floor church use would be directly off the parking area, primarily through one of two
existing doors located underneath the exterior stairway to the upper-story offices.
No exterior or interior improvements or modifications are proposed or required.
The Project Description and a follow-up letter from the owner are provided as Exhibits 3 and 4,
respectively.
ANALYSIS
San Rafael General Plan 2020 Consistency:
The project is consistent with all the applicable General Plan policies. This project would provide a
needed ‘community’ use within the West End neighborhood. Furthermore, this project would promote a
shared off-street parking arrangement by adding a use to the site that has different days and hours of
operation, thus allowing the sharing of the limited parking resources in the area. A complete analysis of
the project’s consistency with the applicable General Plan policies in provided in Exhibit 5.
Zoning Ordinance Consistency:
Chapter 5 – Commercial/Office District
Religious institutions are identified as allowable uses in the Commercial/Office (C/O) District, subject to
obtaining a Use Permit from the Planning Commission. The Use Permit is required to ensure that the use
is compatible with the surroundings uses and would not negatively impact this site or those in the
surrounding area. The “Miracle Mile” section of the West End neighborhood is developed primarily with
commercial and multifamily residential areas, which create a large demand for services that include
religious services. Currently, there are few worshipping opportunities directly on the “Miracle Mile” in the
West End neighborhood.
The proposed primary use would be to conduct religious services in the “Sanctuary” portion of the tenant
space on Wednesday evenings, from 7:30 to 9 p.m., and on Sunday mornings, from 11 a.m. to 12:30
REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION - Case No: UP12-009 Page 4
p.m., with informal fellowship gatherings providing ‘coffee and conversation’ immediately following these
services and lasting approximately one-half (½) hour. It is anticipated that 33-49 occupants would attend
these scheduled services (The congregation membership is currently 33, while the layout of the
proposed seating plan, as reviewed by both the City’s Building Official and the Deputy Fire Marshal,
shows 40 seats and the maximum occupancy for the tenant space is 49.). Other ancillary uses common
of a religious institutions, including informal fellowship gatherings, providing ‘coffee and conversation’
immediately following the religious services and lasting approximately one-half (½) hour, and smaller
group (5-10 people) prayer meetings, conducted on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday mornings from 5 –
6 a.m. Given the small size of the church congregation (33 – 40 people) and the proposed days and
hours of operation (before 6 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, after 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays
and on Sundays), it would not conflict with the existing tenants in the building who are predominantly
office tenants that maintain normal business hours during the week. The only other use in the building,
operating during the days and times that the church would provide religious services, is a tanning salon;
it is the only commercial tenant at the site and it operates 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday,
and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
The proposed change in use has been reviewed by appropriate City Departments, including the City
Engineer, who reviewed the existing parking condition on the site, the propose shared parking
arrangement and the remote parking arrangement and recommended approval, and the Building and
Fire Prevention Divisions, who reviewed the project for compliance with maximum occupancy loads and
accessibility requirements and recommended approval as well.
Chapter 18 - Parking
The site is currently developed with 15, ‘grandfathered’ off-street parking spaces that were installed when
the building was originally constructed in 1947. At that time, the number of parking spaces complied with
the parking requirements for office use. However, based on current zoning requirements, the existing site
would require 21 parking spaces; therefore, it is considered legal, non-conforming in terms of off-street
parking.
The proposed change in use would convert 1,500 sq. ft. of ground-floor office into a religious institution.
Since the space is considered legal non-conforming, the parking requirement for the change in use
would be the difference of parking required for the current use; the current parking requirements for office
is 1 space per 250 sq. ft. of gross building, or 6 off-street parking spaces (based on 1,500 sq. ft. of
existing office space), while the current parking requirement for religious institution is 1 space for every 4
seats, or 10 off-street parking spaces (based on the proposed 40-seat, seating plan). This would require
this change in use to provide 2 more parking spaces that currently exist, based on the current 33
member congregation or 4 more parking spaces, based on the proposed seating plan.
The applicant has requested a modification to the City’s parking requirements to allow the change in use
without providing additional, off-street parking. The reasons cited for the parking modification are the
relatively small size of the church congregation (currently 33 people with a maximum of 40 people) and
the proposed days and hours of operation (before 6 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, after
7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and on Sundays), it would not conflict with the existing tenants in the building
who are predominantly office tenants that maintain normal business hours during the week; the hours of
operation for the church use are significantly different than the other existing uses that would share the
common parking area or facilities, which are predominantly office. The church use will primarily operate
after normal business hours (8 a.m. – 5 p.m.) during the week and on Sundays while the other uses in
the building primarily operate during normal business hours. The tanning salon does operate after normal
business hours on weekdays and on weekends; however, the adjacent property (1924 Fourth Street) is
commonly-owned and provides an additional 17 off-street parking spaces, which are available under
lease agreement for the exclusive use during the hours of operation of the church. Additionally, the
applicant cites that the church would incorporate the use of their congregation member’s personal or
REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION - Case No: UP12-009 Page 5
private minivans to transport approximately two-thirds (⅔) of the existing congregation members to and
from the site, which will help to offset both the parking and traffic demand generated by the use.
Typically, the Zoning Ordinance requires that when there is more than one use occupying a single
structure or single site, the off-street parking requirements shall be the sum of the requirements for the
various uses. However, Section 14.18.080 of the Zoning Ordinance also allows two or more uses that
share a common parking area and have a significant and complementing variation in the period of daily
parking demands, a reduction in the total required parking can be approved through the approval of a
Use Permit, provided that in no instance shall the total required parking be less than the amount that
would be required for any one of the independent uses. This modification is to allow reciprocal or shared
parking for uses is subject to the review and approval of the City Engineer and the Zoning Administrator
(Since the Use Permit requires the Commission’s approval, the project review also includes the proposed
parking modification).
Following a review of the existing conditions at the site as well as the application materials for the
proposed use, both staff and the City Engineer find that the shared parking is appropriate for this site and
the hours of operation for the existing office tenants at the site, which are reciprocal to those proposed by
the church. Furthermore, the remote parking arrangement with the commonly-owned parcel at 1924
Fourth Street provides additional safe and convenient off-site parking to accommodate any additional
parking demand generated by the church use during the proposed days and hours of operation (before
and after normal business hours of 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. weekdays and on weekends). Even though the
proposed religious institution use has a small parking and traffic demand, there are few, if any, sites
along the “Miracle Mile” in the West End neighborhood that can accommodate the strict parking
requirement for a religious institution.
Chapter 22 – Use Permit
In order to grant a Use Permit for the use and the parking reduction, the Planning Commission must find:
a) That the proposed use is in accord with the general plan, the objectives of the zoning
ordinance, and the purposes of the district in which the site is located;
b) That the proposed use, together with the conditions applicable thereto, will not be detrimental
to the public health, safety or welfare, or materially injurious to properties or improvements in
the vicinity, or to the general welfare of the city;
c) That the proposed use complies with each of the applicable provisions of the zoning
ordinance
Given the discussion summarized in this report, staff recommends that the findings to grant the Use
Permit to allow the religious institution, including the ancillary uses, and the reduction to the parking
requirements can be made.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION
The proposed project is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA), pursuant to Section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines which exempts permitting, leasing of private
structures involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing. Given that the proposed use
would not add any new floor area and proposes no physical improvements to the site, staff recommends
that the Categorical Exemption is the appropriate level of CEQA review for this project.
REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION - Case No: UP12-009 Page 6
NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING / CORRESPONDENCE
Notice of hearing for the project was conducted in accordance with noticing requirements contained in
Chapter 29 of the Zoning Ordinance. A Notice of Public Hearing was mailed to all property owners and
occupants within a 300-foot radius of the site and the appropriate neighborhood group (West End
Neighborhood Association) 15-calendar days prior to the date of this hearing. Posting of a public notice
was not required given that the there was no expansion of floor area.
Staff received written/verbal comments on this project from the West End Neighborhood Association
(WENA). WENA indicates neither support nor opposition for the project; instead, WENA expresses
concern for potential noise and parking created by the project.
Since the project principally proposes services after ‘normal’ business hours on Wednesdays and on
Sundays, and with multifamily residences located both north and south of the site, ’WENA is concerned
that possible noise complaints may not be given a high enough priority to result in a timely response.
WENA proposes several alternative conditions of approval to mitigate noise concerns: 1) hold the project
to the City’s more stringent nighttime noise level standards, from 7 – 9 a.m., rather the daytime noise
level standards; 2) require all doors and windows remain closed during the days and hours of operation
when amplification is used; or 3) provide the adjacent multifamily residences and WENA with the owner’s
contact information for direct, ‘first’ contact for noise complaint rather than the San Rafael Police
Department.
During our contact with WENA, staff expressed concern that the high level of ambient noise, created by
vehicles along Fourth Street, a busy traffic corridor, may make it difficult to determine the source of
sounds or noises at the receiving multifamily residences. Staff also stated that the City’s noise standards
are established by Chapter 8.13 of the San Rafael Municipal Code with enforcement by the San Rafael
Police Department. Still, staff has included a condition limiting the hours when amplified music may be
used; Condition 5 of the Draft Resolution (Exhibit 2 of this report), approves the use of amplified music
between 7:30 – 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on Sundays only. This condition further
requires that all church functions, including the use of amplified music during religious services, shall be
consistent with the City’s noise standards at all times.
Additionally, WENA expressed concerns that the available off-street parking at both 1924 and 1930
Fourth Street is not adequate for the project. The days and hours of operation for the current commercial
tenant at the site, Sun Company Tanning (M-Th, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; F-Sun, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) overlap
those proposed by the project; if all off-street parking spaces are in use, WENA believes this may cause
vehicles to back-up onto Fourth Street and create a dangerous condition. WENA is also concerned that,
if tandem parking is allowed for the project, it needs to be managed appropriately so not to impact the
other businesses on the site(s) and to cause vehicles to back-up onto Fourth Street. Lastly, the project
proposes to use a van to transport church members to services; WENA requests more details on the van
pick-up/drop-off points, as well as the safe maneuverability of this van so that does not required back-up
onto Fourth Street.
During our contact with WENA, staff stated that tandem parking is, for the most part, prohibited and that
the City’s Engineer had recommended approval of the project, including finding that the existing off-street
parking, provided by both 1924 and 1930 Fourth Street, is adequate for the project and existing uses on
both sites.
WENA’s comments are attached this staff report as Exhibit 6.
REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION - Case No: UP12-009 Page 7
OPTIONS
The Planning Commission has the following options:
1. Approve the application as presented (staff’s recommendation);
2. Approve the application with modifications or additions to conditions of approval;
3. Continue the applications to allow the applicant to address any of the Commission’s comments or
concerns; or
4. Deny the project and direct staff to return with a revised resolution
EXHIBITS
1. Vicinity/Location Map
2. Draft Resolution of Approval
3. Project Description with Exhibits, Dated March 1, 2012
4. Letter from Owner, Dated March 13, 2012
5. General Plan 2020 Consistency Table
6. Public Comments
Full-Size Plans distributed to the Planning Commission only