HomeMy WebLinkAboutBackground ReportBACKGROUND REPORT
The subject property is located on the northwest comer of National City Blvd. and
Osborne St., in the Medium Commercial (CM) zone. The parcel has frontage on three
streets; Osborn Street, National City Blvd. and Division Street. There is 250 feet of
frontage on Osborn Street, 145 feet on National City Blvd and 115 feet on Division
Street. The lot is developed with a gas station (Valero), which includes an automotive
service bay and a 1,106 square -foot mini mart with restroom, cashier area and storage
space. There is an alley behind the property and eleven parking spaces located
throughout the property. The subject lot and the car sales lot to the west are separated
by a 2-8 foot grade differential. The property is within the Downtown Specific Plan Area.
The applicant is proposing to expand the existing mini mart by 820 square feet by
converting the adjacent mechanics bay into sales floor area. There is also a 694
square -foot addition proposed for an office, walk-in cooler and storage room. As part of
the proposal, the applicant would like to sell beer, wine and distilled spirits for off -site
consumption (ABC Type 21 license) between the hours of 6 a.m. and 12 a.m. Plans
also include the relocation of a trash enclosure and the re -striping of the parking lot.
The project site is within Development Zone #1A of the Downtown Specific Plan Area.
This is generally the area bounded by 5th, Roosevelt, 8th and National City Blvd.
Preferred land uses in this zone are residential and visitor serving commercial (hotel,
motel, restaurants) entertainment uses (theaters, clubs); light industrial manufacturing;
auto -oriented retail; professional offices or public parking. A gas station is a
commercial use that serves all facets of the population; therefore, the use is consistent
with the Specific Plan.
In addition to being consistent with preferred land uses, new construction (the addition)
must meet the Project Development Findings of the Downtown Specific Plan. There are
a total of seven such findings, most of which are geared towards ground up projects on
vacant or completely redeveloped lots. In this case, with only a small addition to an
existing use, only one of these findings can be made. Project Development Finding 1 —
Basic Compliance — requires that project comply with the minimum parking
requirements and standards of the Specific Plan. Seeing as the proposed addition does
not exceed any of these standards (height, setbacks, parking or density), the project is
consistent with this finding.
Valero has been operating under the current ownership at this location since February
2009. The applicant has indicated that they would like to offer a wider variety of
products to their customers, including beer, wine and distilled spirits, in order to add to
the viability of the service station. The current hours of operation are 6:00 a.m. to 12:00
a.m. seven days a week.
Both the expansion of the mini mart and the sale of alcohol require a Conditional Use
Permit (CUP). A gas station may have a sales display area with up to 216 cubic feet of
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non -automotive product; however, Chapter 18.98 of the National City Land Use Code
(NCLUC) allows for a greater sales area of non -automotive products with an approved
CUP. Chapter 18.71 of the Land Use Code allows for alcohol sales with an approved
CUP.
With the 820 square -foot conversion, the mini mart would be approximately 2,620
square feet in size. Discounting the storage, restroom and office space, the total sales
area would be around 1,926 square feet. As mentioned above, the lot currently has
eleven parking spaces. There is no specific parking requirement for a gas station;
however, most commercial uses require one space for each 250 square feet. In this
case, that would be approximately four spaces, which are provided.
Trip generation rates provided by the San Diego Association of Governments
(SANDAG) for this type of facility (gas station with convenience store and carwash), are
based on the number of fuel spaces (155 Average Daily Trips per pump). Since no new
gas pumps are proposed and the expansion of the mini mart would not generate an
increased number of vehicle trips, no significant increase in the number of daily trips is
expected.
The mini mart expansion is part of an upgrade of the existing building currently housing
an auto repair bay and the existing store and cashier area. The new building design
proposes facade improvements consisting of a smooth plaster finish, columns, cornice
molding and stone veneer at the base of the building. The changes to the building
appearance will have a positive effect on the area, given that it is located at a major
intersection. The proposed expansion will allow for the enhancement of an existing tenant
by extending their services to include sale of additional convenience goods as well as
gasoline sales. This is consistent with General Plan policies that encourage full utilization of
commercial sites. The project also meets several other General Plan policies, including the
expansion of existing businesses where they are compatible and the private revitalization of
older businesses in the City.
The site has some landscape areas, consisting mostly of shrubs around the vehicular
access points to the property. In order to upgrade the landscaping, a Condition of
Approval has been added requiring the applicant to submit a Landscape and Irrigation
plan as part of building permit submittal. A Condition has also been added to require
the relocated trash enclosure to meet current standards (door and cover).
Pursuant to Section 18.71.030, a community meeting was held Saturday, May 28, 2011
at 2:00 p.m. at the Valero station. The applicant states that all property owners and
occupants within 660 feet of the store were notified by mail of the meeting. A sign -in
sheet and meeting minutes are attached. According to the sign -in sheet, only the
business owners were present.
Per State Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) there are currently five (5) off -sale
licenses in this census tract (114.00) where a maximum of three (3) are recommended.
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Therefore, this census tract is considered by ABC to be over -saturated with regard to
off -sale alcohol outlets. The existing locations are as follows:
Name
Address
Distance (mi)
Arido Market
1643 Wilson
1.4
Big B Market
1540 Coolidge
1.2
Cozines
402 Civic Ctr
1.1
AM/PM
133 W 8th
0.6
One Ten Liquor and Market
110 National City Blvd
< 300 feet
Census tract 114.00 encompasses the area from Division to West 18th Streets and west
of National City Blvd. Of the businesses in this census tract, AM/PM and Cozines
received discretionary approval from the City. The remaining businesses are
considered legal non -conforming — they have no Conditional Use Permit.
Alcohol products would be stored in three areas. Distilled spirits are proposed to be
located behind the sales counter; large quantity beer products (cases, 30-packs, etc)
and red wine would be on shelves in the main sales area, with the remainder (white
wine, beer) to be stored in the coolers. In an effort to ensure the responsible placement
of alcohol products, a Condition of Approval (No. 15) has been added limiting the sale
of products outside the coolers to the rear corner of the store, and also limiting the
location of cold alcohol products to the coolers along the west wall. With distilled spirits
behind the cashier, this would ensure that all alcohol products would be in view of or
under the direct control of the cashier, and also that they would be away from the front
entrance. Condition No. 16 requires all coolers containing alcohol products to be
locked after alcohol sales hours, should the station be open after current hours in the
future. The condition also requires that distilled spirits be kept in a locked cabinet at all
times.
According to current crime statistics provided by the Police Department (PD), the
reporting area (Beat 20) had a 2009 crime rate of 99.7%, below the 120% considered
to be a high crime area. The Department has objected to the issuance of a Conditional
Use Permit for on -sale alcohol at this location. In their comments, PD states that there
are currently 100 alcohol licenses issued in National City, or roughly 11.7 outlets per
square mile. There was also objection due to another Type 21 license being located
directly across the street (One Ten Liquor and Market) and that no other gas station in
the City has been issued a Type 21 license (there is not). Furthermore, it was stated
that until the Police Department had the budget to deploy a dedicated unit to regulate
these alcohol establishments, policing of additional businesses selling alcohol would
be a burden to the Department.
The Institute for Public Strategies also provided comment and stated that the census
tract in which the project site is located is currently over -saturated with regard to
alcohol licenses and that it is close to a residential neighborhood (there are residences
100-150 feet to the east across Osborne Street). IPS recommends, should the permit
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be approved, that no single -serves be sold, all employees receive Responsible
Beverage Service and Sales (RBSS) training, and that distilled spirits not be permitted
(a Type 20 — beer and wine only — rather than Type 21). No single -serves and RBSS
training are standard conditions for alcohol CUPS and are included with this staff
report.
Conditions of Approval have been included limiting the hours of alcohol sales as well
as standard alcohol permit conditions limiting how alcohol is sold, in what quantities
and by whom. These Conditions of Approval controlling the sale of beer and wine will
reduce any potential for adverse effects. Additionally, the City has the authority to revoke a
Conditional Use Permit if the approved Conditions of Approval are not adhered to.
The Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on June 6, 2011. The applicant
asked for leniency on three Conditions of Approval. Commissioners commented that a
Type 20 ABC license (beer and wine) might be more appropriate and they could not
support changing any conditions. The Commission voted to find the project consistent
with the Downtown Specific Plan and approve the CUP based on required findings and
subject to Conditions of Approval, with a typographical change to Condition No. 16.
City Council set this item for hearing at the June 21, 2011 meeting after discussing the
proposal. Concerns were raised. regarding the need for the sale of distilled spirits and
that it might be more appropriate for the outlet to sell beer and wine only. Due to these
concerns, recommend Findings and Conditions of Approval are for beer and wine only,
omitting all references to distilled spirits, should Council choose to approve this
application. If a different option is pursued, a new resolution would need to come back
at a later date.
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