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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBackground reportBACKGROUND REPORT The project location is El Super Market, a neighborhood market in a small shopping center at the southeast corner of East 18th Street and "L" Avenue in the Minor Mixed -Use Corridor (MXC-1) zone. The existing market is approximately 1,200 square feet in size. Other businesses in the center include a Laundromat and a smoothie/frutas business. The area is mostly adjacent to residential uses, with a church across "L" Avenue. El Super Market has been in business for several years, but is now under new ownership. The applicant is requesting to sell beer and wine for off -site consumption between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. seven days a week. Beer and white wine would be stored in a cooler located in the rear of the store. Red wine would be stored on a shelf, nearby the cooler. The submitted application also included a petition in support of alcohol sales, which was signed by 192 people (attached). Section 18.30.050 of the National City Land Use Code allows for off -site alcohol sales with an approved Conditional Use Permit (CUP). Requirements for the CUP include a community meeting and distance requirements. Pursuant to Section 18.30.050 (C), a community meeting was held Wednesday, November 27, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the National City Chamber of Commerce. The applicant has stated that no-one was in attendance Chapter 18.030.050 (D) requires that businesses that sell alcohol as a principal use maintain a 660-foot distance from schools. However, sales of alcohol in this case would be accessory to a market, and would thus not be subject to this requirement. Although there is a church across the street, the Land Use Code does not mention churches with regard to distance requirements. Furthermore, the applicant has stated that the church has not objected to the issuance of a CUP for alcohol sales. The nearest school is Las Palmas Elementary School, located approximately 1,900 feet away. Per California State Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), there is currently one other off - sale permit issued in this census tract (121.01), which is El Super (supermarket) located at 3007 Highland Avenue. The other El Super is located almost a mile away. The nearest off -sale outlet is 7-Eleven, located at 1601 East 18th Street (in Census Tract 220), approximately a '/4-mile away. Census tract 121.01 includes the area of the City between East 18th Street and East 32nd Street. The eastern boundary of the tract is the golf course. The western boundary is "L" Avenue, extending to "J" Avenue south of East 24th Street, extending to Highland Avenue south of East 30th Street. The attached census tract map shows the location of the subject tract. ABC recommends that a total of one off -sale alcohol permit be issued in this census tract, where one exists. This would be an increase of 100%. However, if the City approves a CUP for an additional license, ABC can still issue an alcohol license subject to additional findings. Crime statistics provided by the Police Department (PD) indicate that the reporting area (Beat 23) had a 2011 crime rate of 108%, below the 120% considered to be a high crime area. PD provided a Risk Assessment report, which assigns points based on the type of business, license concentration, and calls for service (among others) and ranks the business according to potential risk (low, medium, or high). In this case, El Super Market received a score of 15, which would indicate a medium risk. However, PD also had concerns related to water pipes (considered drug paraphernalia) that were on sale at the store. A condition has been added to require compliance with Chapter 18.30.230, which regulates tobacco specialty stores. No comments have been received from the Institute for Public Strategies at this time, although they are aware of the application. Standard Conditions of Approval have been included with this permit, as well as conditions specific to off -sale alcohol sales per Council policy (alcohol sales incidental to other sales items, hours of operation, RBSS training, etc.). A condition is also included that limits the alcohol display area to the rear cooler and shelving areas, prohibiting alcohol storage near the store entrance. No other Departments provided comment. El Super Market has been licensed at this location since 2007. The subject census tract is not currently over -concentrated with off -sale alcohol licenses, although issuance of another license would result in a 100% increase in off -sale outlets and in an over -concentration situation. However, the other license in this census tract is almost a mile away and has little influence on the area surrounding the subject area. Conditions would ensure that, if approved, the sale of alcohol for off -site consumption would not have any negative impacts on the surrounding community. Planning Commission conducted a public hearing on December 16, 2013. Commissioners asked questions regarding conditions of approval and items for sale at the market. The Institute for Public Strategies provided written comments at the meeting, which are attached. The Commission voted to approve the Conditional Use Permit based on required findings and subject to Conditions of Approval, with an added condition prohibiting the sale of tobacco -related or drug -related paraphernalia. The Notice of Decision of the Planning Commission approval was reviewed by City Council at the February 4, 2014 Council meeting, at which time the item was set for hearing in order to discuss the item further. Councilmembers discussed the need for color photos, dates for photos, and the omission of gang names in submitted materials. In this case, the names were included in comments received from the Institute for Public Strategies (IPS). IPS has been apprised of the request for future comment submittals. However, because these most recent comments were seen and acted upon by the Planning Commission, no change to the current project comments has been made, as the Council needs to see what the Commission was presented at the original public hearing.