2A Public Hearing 2007 0709 - Laserfiche WebLink

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RELATIONSHIP TO SURROUNDING AREA The site is surrounded by CD Commercial Downtown properties to the northwest, south and west. P Professional Office and P (PD) Professional Office (Planned Development) are found to the northeast and east of the site. Uses along E. 14th Street are downtown commercial uses and uses along Juana Avenue are primarily medical office. Uses along Dolores Avenue include an office use immediately adjacent to the site, with single family residential uses beyond. BACKGROUND The subject property is the closed Albertsons site, and is one of the opportunity sites identified in the Downtown Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Strategy. Albertsons closed at this location on September 8, 2005. Norcal AI, LLC submitted a plan for a mixed-use project built around the grocery store in February of 2006. This application was withdrawn on May 10, 2006. An application for a Grocery Outlet was submitted on July 11, 2006. Prior to this application being deemed complete, an urgency ordinance was passed which placed a moratorium on discretionary actions for any opportunity site within the Downtown TOD Strategy Area. The moratorium is in effect until November 6, 2007, or when the Strategy has been adopted and new zoning and general plan amendments are in place, whichever occurs first. On March 19, 2007, Grocery Outlet submitted a letter to the Planning Manager, stating their Grocery Outlet application should be considered a neighborhood grocery store, not a supermarket. On April 16, 2007, Planning Manager Debbie Pollart responded that the City has consistently treated stores similar in size and product mix to the Project as supermarkets, rather than as neighborhood stores. On April 24, 2007, Red Mountain Retail Group appealed the determination of Planning Manager Pollart. On May 1, 2007, Zoning Enforcement Official William Shock confirmed Planning Manager Pollart's determination that Grocery Outlet would be considered a supermarket. On May 3, 2007, Grocery Outlet and Norcal AI, LLC filed an appeal of the administrative decision of the Zoning Enforcement Official. Appeals of the Zoning Enforcement Official, under Article 28, may be referred to either the Planning Commission or the Board of Zoning Adjustments. As the Board of Zoning Adjustments would hold a public hearing on a Conditional Use Permit application, it was determined that the Board of Zoning Adjustments would be the appropriate body to hear the appeal. DETAILS OF THE PROPOSAL The applicants are proposing that their application for a Grocery Outlet of 25,620 square feet at 1550 E. 14th Street is a neighborhood grocery store and a permitted use in the CD Commercial Downtown District. ST AFF ANALYSIS Grocery Outlet has proposed locating a 25,620 square foot store at 1550 E. 14th Street which is located in the City's CD Commercial Downtown District. Grocery Outlet contends that their application is small vis-a-vis the current industry standard for supermarkets and is therefore more akin to a neighborhood grocery store than a supermarket. To this end Grocery Outlet reasons that BZA Staff Report PLN2007 -00029 June 7, 2007 Page 20f4