Renewal of Conditional Use Permit No. 2001-17 (Graciela Hotel)

PURPOSE:

This report recommends that the City Council renew Conditional Use Permit No. 2001-17, which allows the Graciela Burbank extended-stay hotel to serve alcoholic beverages through room service, from in-room self-service bars, and in conjunction with food service throughout the hotel, including in the lobby lounge area.

BACKGROUND:

Property Location: The subject property is located at 322 N. Pass Avenue at the intersection with Oak Street (Lots 171-175, Tract 10141; M.B. 140-3-4) (Exhibit A-1).

Zoning: The subject property is zoned Planned Development No. 97-4.  This Planned Development was originally approved in 1998 and amended in 2003.[1]  Adjacent and abutting properties are zoned MDR-5 Media District Residential Multiple High Density, R-4 Residential Multiple Medium Density, C-2 Commercial Limited Business, and Planned Development No. 94-8 (Warner Bros. Ranch Facility Master Plan).

General Plan Designation: The subject property is designated as Multiple Family Medium Density Residential in the General Plan Land Use Element.  The zoning is consistent with this land use designation.

Property Dimensions: The subject property is approximately 250 feet wide and 129 feet deep with a site area of approximately 32,250 square feet.

Street Classification: Pass Avenue is classified as a secondary arterial street and Oak Street is classified as a collector street in the General Plan Circulation Element.

Paved Width of Street: Pass Avenue has a 90-foot right-of-way with a paved street width of approximately 65 feet.  Oak Street has a 65-foot right-of-way with a paved street width of approximately 35 feet.

Sidewalk/Parkway Width: The sidewalk is approximately 12 to 13 feet wide on both sides of Pass Avenue, including a landscaped parkway area along the subject property.  The sidewalk and parkway are approximately 15 feet wide on both sides of Oak Street.

Current Development of the Site: The project site is developed with the Graciela Burbank extended-stay hotel including 99 hotel rooms and incidental meeting and dining facilities.

Project Description and History: On January 29, 2002, the City Council approved Conditional Use Permit (CUP) No. 2001-17 to allow the Graciela Burbank extended-stay hotel to serve alcoholic beverages through room service, from in-room self-service bars, and in conjunction with food service throughout the hotel, including in the lobby lounge area.  The CUP was approved for a one-year trial period ending in January 2003, after which the permit would sunset and become ineffective unless extended by the Council.  On October 29, 2002, the City Council conducted a six-month review of the CUP as required by the conditions of approval.  During that Council meeting, a representative of the Graciela requested that the Council consider deleting a condition of approval that restricted the hotel from hosting luncheons, business meetings, dinners, or other such social gatherings in the public areas of the hotel.  On November 26, 2002, the Council approved the requested modification, and renewed the CUP for an additional one-year trial period through January 2004.

On December 9, 2003, the Council considered another extension of the CUP in conjunction with the amendment to Planned Development No. 97-4.  Several conditions from the original CUP were moved to the conditions of approval for the Planned Development so as to apply to the general operations of the hotel and not specifically to alcoholic beverage service.  The Council approved the CUP for a third one-year trial period.  The amended and restated CUP conditions of approval and the original and amended planned development conditions of approval are attached hereto as Exhibits B-1 and B-2.  The CUP will now expire on January 31, 2005, unless extended by the Council.  Per the original terms of the CUP, the Council was obligated to renew the CUP for only a one-year trial period for at least three years following the original adoption.  Since three years have passed since the original approval, the Council now has the option to renew the CUP for another trial period or renew the CUP permanently.  If the Council takes no action, the CUP will expire on January 31, 2005, and the Graciela hotel would no longer be permitted to serve alcoholic beverages.

Per the conditions of approval, it is staff�s responsibility to bring this matter back to the Council prior to the expiration date for the Council to consider renewing the CUP.  No action on the part of the applicant is required.

Municipal Code Conformance: Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) Section 31-1116 requires approval of a CUP prior to any establishment selling alcoholic beverages for on- or off-premises consumption, unless exempted by code.  BMC Section 31-19132 allows for discretionary entitlements such as conditional use permits to be processed in a planned development zone subsequent to planned development approval.

Public Correspondence: Public notice of the subject public hearing has been provided by the same means as a typical conditional use permit.  Notices were mailed to all property owners and tenants within a 1,000-foot radius of the subject property and published in the Burbank Leader newspaper.  As of the publication of this report, no correspondence had been received from the public.

ANALYSIS:

Surrounding Properties: The subject property is surrounded by commercial and multiple family residential uses.  The hotel is compatible with surrounding uses and has not, to staff�s knowledge, had any detrimental impacts on neighboring properties.  The service of alcoholic beverages is a service that is expected and desired in a full service hotel.  Staff does not believe that the service of alcoholic beverages has any effect on surrounding properties beyond what would be expected of the overall hotel use.  The City has received no complaints from neighboring property owners or tenants regarding the service of alcoholic beverages at the hotel.

Project Characteristics:

Parking:

A comprehensive parking study was conducted by Kaku Associates in 2003 in conjunction with the amendment to Planned Development No. 97-4.  The study concluded that with the use of a valet parking service, the parking garage at the Graciela could accommodate up to 140 vehicles.  The parking analysis determined that this amount of parking would correspond to 112 people attending meetings or other functions in the meeting rooms of the hotel, assuming full occupancy of the hotel and the lobby lounge area.  As such, a condition of approval was placed upon the planned development that limits attendance at meetings or other events at the hotel to 112 people.  Other conditions of approval mandate the use of a valet parking service and require the hotel to provide a shuttle service to the Bob Hope Airport and other local destinations to further reduce the use of personal automobiles by hotel guests.  The limitations on the number of persons at the hotel and related conditions are required through the planned development regardless of whether the hotel is permitted to serve alcoholic beverages.  Therefore, the service of alcohol does not affect parking availability at the hotel.

Traffic:

In conjunction with the parking study, Kaku Associates studied trip generation rates from the hotel that were expected as a result of the expanded meeting space requested in the planned development amendment.  The expected additional trips were determined to be insignificant and were not expected to have a significant impact on any streets or intersections in the area.  The service of alcoholic beverages is incidental to the hotel and its related food service and meeting space amenities, and does not generally in and of itself generate additional vehicle trips to the hotel.  It is possible that some individuals travel to the hotel specifically to purchase alcoholic beverages in the lobby lounge area.  However, the lounge is intended to serve hotel guests and is not intended for outside visitors.  The number of persons traveling to the hotel specifically to visit the lobby lounge is minimal and does not generate a notable amount of additional traffic.

Noise:

Meetings and other social gatherings are permitted at the hotel through the planned development with or without alcoholic beverage service.  Conditions on the planned development prohibit the use of outdoor areas after 10 p.m. seven days per week and prohibit the use of amplified music or sound at any time in outdoor areas to minimize noise impacts on neighboring properties.  While it may be argued that the service of alcoholic beverages could result in increased noise from social gatherings, the conditions of approval of the planned development mitigate the impacts of any such additional noise.

Hours of Alcohol Service:

The existing conditional use permit limits the service of alcohol from 5 p.m. to 12 midnight Monday through Thursday, 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, and 11:30 a.m. to 12 midnight Sunday.  Staff believes that the restrictions effectively address concerns that were previously expressed by area residents regarding the potential impacts of alcohol service during the day and/or late evening hours.  Staff believes that these hours have worked well to address these concerns while not overly restricting the hotel�s ability to provide amenities for its guests.

Department Comments: Staff contacted the Police Department, the License and Code Services Division, and the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) and requested input regarding the renewal of the subject CUP.  License and Code Services staff stated that they have had no complaints, enforcement actions, or other problems with the Graciela hotel during the past year.  The License and Code Services Division has no objection to permanently renewing the CUP.  ABC staff stated that they have received no complaints or had any enforcement actions against the Graciela, except for a single incident discussed below.

The Police Department reported that a bartender in the Graciela�s lobby lounge was cited in March 2003 for selling alcohol to a minor during a decoy operation.  This incident occurred prior to the Council�s last renewal of the CUP.  However, information provided by the Police Department at that time did not include a reference to this incident.  As such, staff was not aware of the incident until the Police Department was again requested to provide input regarding the subject renewal.  Another decoy operation was conducted at the Graciela on November 18, 2004.  During this operation, the Graciela�s bartender correctly identified the decoy as a minor and refused to serve alcohol to the minor.

In light of the previous incident, the Police Department initially recommended that the CUP be renewed for an additional trial period rather than permanently.  However, because the minor decoy was not served during the recent operation, the Police Department stated that they are now comfortable with the CUP being renewed permanently.  Staff contacted the Graciela�s representative to discuss last year�s incident and find out what steps have been taken to ensure that such an incident does not happen again in the future.  Staff learned that the bartender who served the minor in 2003 was immediately dismissed from employment and that the rest of the hotel�s service staff was re-trained on proper procedures for selling alcoholic beverages pursuant to ABC guidelines.  All new employees are given the same training to ensure the proper handling and selling of alcoholic beverages at the hotel.  The Graciela also noted that the 2003 incident is the only problem related to alcohol sales that has occurred at the hotel in the nearly three years since the CUP was first granted.

Staff recommends that the CUP be renewed permanently rather than for an additional trial period.  The Graciela�s compliance during the recent decoy operation indicates that the 2003 citation was an isolated incident.  The Graciela took steps immediately following the incident to help ensure that such a problem would not arise again in the future.  Further, minors are not likely to frequent the lobby lounge of an upscale hotel.  Staff is not minimizing the incident and believes that sale of alcohol to a minor is a serious issue regardless of the type of establishment.  Sales to minors are of great concern at places such as bars, nightclubs, liquor stores, and other such businesses that minors may frequent.  However, minors and young adults would not typically frequent upscale restaurants or lounges that cater to an adult clientele.  If this incident occurred at a liquor store or nightclub, staff would recommend that the CUP be renewed for another trial period such that the business would remain under close scrutiny for at least one more year.  However, for the purpose of renewing the subject CUP, staff does not believe that an isolated incident of sales to a minor is cause to require an additional trial period, especially since the Graciela immediately recognized and responded to the incident to help prevent it for occurring again.

Environmental Review: The proposed project is Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15301 of the State CEQA Guidelines pertaining to existing facilities involving negligible or no expansion of an existing use (Exhibit C).  Renewal of the CUP would allow an existing situation to continue and would not expand or alter the operations of the hotel.

CONCLUSION:

It is staff's assessment that the six findings required for approval of a CUP pursuant to BMC Section 31-1936 can be made for permanently renewing the subject CUP.

REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTING A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT:

(1)                The use applied for at the location set forth in the application is properly one for which a conditional use permit is authorized by Chapter 31 of the Burbank Municipal Code.

BMC Section 31-1116 requires a conditional use permit to be approved prior to any establishment selling alcoholic beverages for on- or off-premises consumption, unless exempted by code.  BMC Section 31-19132 allows for discretionary entitlements such as conditional use permits to be processed in a planned development zone subsequent to planned development approval.

(2)                The use is not detrimental to existing uses or to uses specifically permitted in the zone in which the proposed use is to be located.

Allowing the Graciela to continue serving alcoholic beverages would not be detrimental to the hotel use permitted in the Planned Development No. 97-4 zone and would continue to provide a highly desired amenity for hotel guests.

(3)                The use will be compatible with other uses on the same lot, and in the general area in which the use is proposed to be located.

The service of alcoholic beverages is typical for a hotel and is compatible with the hotel use itself and surrounding properties.  Alcoholic beverage sales are incidental to the overall hotel use and do not alter the overall operations of the hotel in such a way as to create incompatibilities with surrounding uses and properties.  The sale of alcoholic beverages over the past three years since the original permit was approved has not created any incompatibilities with neighboring properties or uses.

(4)                The site for the proposed use is adequate in size and shape to accommodate the use and all of the yards, setbacks, walls, landscaping, and other features required to adjust the use to the existing or future uses permitted in the neighborhood.

The subject conditional use permit controls only the service of alcoholic beverages at the hotel.  It does not involve any physical alterations to the hotel facility.  The physical areas of the hotel in which alcohol is served were approved as part of the planned development zone.

(5)                The site for the proposed use relates to streets and highways properly designed and improved to carry the type and quantity of traffic generated or to be generated by the proposed use.

Renewal of the subject conditional use permit would not generate any significant traffic impacts beyond those generated by the overall hotel use.  The existing street system in the area is adequate to handle any associated traffic and the circulation system would not be affected.

(6)                The conditions imposed are necessary to protect the public health, convenience, safety, and welfare.

The proposed conditions of approval would ensure that the service of alcoholic beverages is done in a manner that protects surrounding uses and properties and mitigates any potential impacts.

RECOMMENDATION:

Staff recommends that the City Council permanently renew Conditional Use Permit No. 2001-17 to allow the Graciela hotel to continue to serve alcoholic beverages through room service, from in-room self-service bars, and in conjunction with food service throughout the hotel, including in the lobby lounge area.  Staff notes that such a renewal would not affect the Council�s ability to review the CUP in the future or take action to revoke the CUP in the event the service of alcoholic beverages is detrimental to surrounding properties or otherwise becomes a public nuisance.

LIST OF EXHIBITS:

Exhibit             A-1      Zoning/Public Noticing/Fair Political Practices Act Compliance Map

                         A-2      Notice of Public Hearing

Exhibit             B-1      Amended and restated conditions of approval for Conditional Use

                                     Permit No. 2001-17

                        B-2      Original and amended conditions of approval for Planned Development

                                    No. 97-4

Exhibit            C         Public Notice of Environmental Decision

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