TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THRU: Tom Kisela, City Manager
FROM: Russell Bunim, Community Development Director
1. Subject
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Public Hearing to consider an appeal of Planning Commission approval of Conditional Use Permit No. 3210-23 for a new church and coffeehouse at 611 W. Chapman Avenue and finding of CEQA exemption.
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2. Summary
On December 4, 2023, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. PC-202-23 approving a request by CedarHouse for the operation of a church with classes, community enrichment activities, and a coffeehouse at 611 W. Chapman Avenue. The approval was appealed to City Council on December 15, 2023 (Appeal No. 0564-23).
3. Recommended Action
recommendation
1. Conduct and close Public Hearing.
2. Adopt proposed Resolution No. 11527. A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Orange denying Appeal No. 0564-23 and approving Conditional Use Permit No. 3210-23, a request by CedarHouse, a 501(C)(3) organization for operation of a church with classes, community enrichment activities and a coffeehouse at 611 West Chapman Avenue.
3. Find the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (Class 1 - Existing Facilities).
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4. Fiscal Impact
None.
5. Strategic Plan Goals
Goal 3: Enhance and promote quality of life in the community
c: Support and enhance attractive, diverse living environments.
Goal 5: Recognize, promote, and preserve Orange's rich heritage
b: Expand and strengthen processes and practices related to protection and cultural resources.
6. Discussion and Background
On December 4, 2023, the Planning Commission approved Conditional Use Permit No. 3210-23, a request by CedarHouse, a 501(c)(3) organization, to operate a church with classes, community enrichment activities, and a coffeehouse at 611 W. Chapman Avenue (Resolution No. PC 20-23). The property is located in the Old Towne Orange Historic District. A detailed overview of the proposed use and hours of activity is provided in Attachment 2 (Planning Commission Staff Report).
The applicant proposes to operate a church and a coffeehouse within an existing vacant 2,827 square-foot commercial building and associated 700 square-foot detached garage in the Santa Fe Depot Specific Plan Old Towne Mixed Use -15S (OTMU-15S(SP)) zoning district. The Santa Fe Depot Specific Plan encourages a mix of land uses. The existing building was previously used for commercial and retail purposes. The property is located in the Old Towne Orange Historic District.
The introduction of the proposed uses to the site would bring new a new type of business to a property that has been underutilized along West Chapman, a gateway location to City.
Planning Commission approved the Project 5-1, with one recusal after analyzing impacts the proposed operation may present to the surrounding neighborhood such as special events at the location that may draw 40-80 participants. Issues like parking and noise were discussed and Planning Commission agreed any impacts were mitigated by the conditions of approval.
Parking
Because of Assembly Bill 2097, a public agency may not impose any minimum parking requirements on any residential, commercial, or other development projects if it is located with ½ mile of public transit. 611 W. Chapman Avenue is located one block West from the Orange Transportation Center (Metrolink) station. Due to the property’s proximity to public transit, the applicant is not required to provide any parking and the existing six parking spaces; four located in the front and two located at the rear, accessed through the rear alley will be removed.
To mitigate any parking impacts, the applicant intends to direct visitors to walk, take public transportation, or park in the City’s public parking structure on N. Lemon Street so that visitors do not park along the residential streets on N. Parker Street and N. Pixley Street when they stay over two hours.
Noise
The block to the north of the project site is zoned R-3 for multi-family development, separated from the project site by an alleyway. To mitigate any noise impacts, services will be indoors. Live music may occur on Friday nights, but it will be indoors. Vocals and instruments may be amplified through microphones, but there will not be electric instruments connected to amplifiers or drums.
Appeal of Planning Commission Action
The Planning Commission approval was appealed to the City Council on December 15, 2023, by Scott Bolt. The grounds for that appeal are presented in Attachment 3.
The grounds for the appeal are as follows:
“1. Negative Noise Impact - 80 individuals every Friday within a 1,100 square foot space with semi amplified music is excessive and will be heard by residential neighbors during evenings and weekends. Closest residents are 20 to 30 feet from the subject site.
a. Appellant is requesting a noise impact study be conducted with noise at the proposed magnitude to determine the impact affecting surrounding residents. What are the acceptable decibel levels? Can house be restricted due to decibel levels?
b. Appellant is requesting building products be implemented to mitigate sound from disturbing the surrounding residents such as soundproofing the existing walls, windows, or doors.
c. Appellant is requesting the city to restrict occupancy to less than 24 people at any given time.
2. Negative Traffic Impact
a. Appellant is requesting delivery schedules for materials, consumables, and waste management to the property be evaluated to reduce impact to residents on the surrounding streets and alley.
b. Appellant is requesting a traffic impact report to determine the impact of customer and vendor ingress and egress in the alley and surrounding streets. If parking is being removed from Chapman Avenue of the property it is assumed all deliveries will be through the alley which has restricted space and building setbacks.
c. Appellant is requesting a pedestrian impact report to determine the effects of increased foot traffic at the alley and surrounding streets.
d. Appellant is requesting an ADA parking plan be evaluated and the traffic impact for accessing the ADA parking spots through the alley. Indicate how vendor deliveries will affect ADA parking access. How many ADA parking spots are required for the occupancy levels.
3. Negative Utility and Service Impact
a. Appellant is requesting an Impact study for waste management including location of disposal and number of weekly services for a commercial facility.
b. Appellant is requesting a study on the impact to water and sewer system and whether or not the existing resident services can accommodate a commercial restaurant facility of 40 to 80 people.
c. Appellant is requesting a plan for renewal energy and solar power to be provided for the facility.
d. Appellant is requesting emergency exit plan for the facility and how it will effect the alley between residential areas.
4. Design Review
a. Appellant is requesting the proposed plan to alter the parking, vegetation, and curb along Chapman Avenue to be reviewed by the Orange Design Review Committee.”
Conditions of approval were included in Planning Commission Resolution No. PC 20-23 (Exhibit A of Attachment 1) to address potential noise impacts on surrounding uses. Because of State law, there is no mitigation for the lack of parking. In addition, the project is not subject to Design Review Committee approval or review. The removal of the parking spots and improvements to the front setback are reviewed by staff through a Minor Design Review application.
The project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (Class 1 - Existing Facilities) given that it involves a change in use and interior alterations of an existing commercial property.
7. ATTACHMENTS
1. Attachment 1 Proposed City Council Resolution No. 11527
2. Attachment 2 Planning Commission Staff Report and Minutes dated December 4, 2023
3. Attachment 3 Appeal No. 0564-23
4. Attachment 4 Vicinity Map