A key focus of the General Plan 2030 is to expand areas that allow for development of mixed use.  The General Plan Land Use Element expressly recognizes that, by combining complimentary uses, mixed use projects bring energy and vitality to areas during both daytime and after-work hours, and that mixed use areas offer the opportunity for symbiotic developments that benefit both residents and the businesses operating within them.  The Civic Center area is a specific focus area in the General Plan Land Use Element.

In 2012, the Garden Grove City Council approved General Plan Amendment No. GPA-1-11(A) and Amendment Nos. A-160-11 and A-161-11 to adopt and implement Mixed-Use Regulations and Development Standards (Chapter 9.18 of the Land Use Code), along with focused amendments to the General Plan Land Use policy map and changes to the Zoning Map to achieve consistency with the City of Garden Grove’s General Plan.  The Land Use Code text amendments and zone changes were intended to implement the General Plan, which was comprehensively updated in 2008.  The focused amendments to the General Plan Land Use policy map reflected refined policy considerations that have emerged through the process of analyzing the Zoning Map in relation to the Mixed Use applications near, or next to, designed Mixed-Use Land Use Designations.  The amendments consisted of changes to regulatory documents that guide the development of properties citywide.  Part of the amendments included the adoption of the Civic Center zones, which include the CC-1 (Civic Center East), the CC-2 (Civic Center Main Street), and CC-3 (Civic Center Core) zones. 

The CC-1 zone is located south of Stanford Avenue, north of Garden Grove Boulevard, west of Ninth Street, and east of Civic Center Boulevard.  This zone allows for institutional and educational uses, together with a mix of residential and commercial uses. The intent was to allow uses and development approaches that maintain the character and form of the established neighborhoods within the Civic Center district. Existing residential structures may continue to be used for residential purposes or may be adapted for commercial use, provided that applicable development standards can be met.

The CC-2 zone applies to the historic Main Street District. Main Street is recognized as a place of special character and aesthetic interest and value. This zone was established to preserve and enhance buildings and structures of historic and cultural significance, and incidental uses that advance and preserve the Main Street character and charm.

The CC-3 zone is generally located, both north and south of Garden Grove Boulevard, south of Stanford Avenue, north of Trask Avenue, west of Civic Center Drive, and east of Nelson Street.  The CC-3 zone was established to encourage civic, educational, commercial, high-density residential uses that are compatible and enliven the City’s core and work together to create a walkable, lively district that encourages interaction and engagement in community activities.  Shared parking facilities, pedestrian orientation of buildings, quality architecture, and pedestrian-scaled landscaping, pathways, and signage reinforce the goal of the General Plan to create places where people, not cars, predominate.

Following the adoption of the Mixed Use Zoning Code, there had been interest in the adaptive reuse of the existing homes in the CC-1 zone by converting them to commercial uses in order to preserve the older homes and maintain the character of the neighborhood.  Prior to the adoption of the Mixed Use zoning, there was the mindset to assemble the existing properties and to create larger institutional uses and larger residential projects.  The previous zoning (prior to the current Mixed Use zoning) encouraged the redevelopment of the area rather than its preservation.  The intent of the CC-1 zoning is to preserve the older structures by allowing them to be converted to commercial uses.

In 2015, the City of Garden Grove approved Amendment No. A-013-2015, in order to assist in facilitating the goals of the existing CC-1 zoning and to further encourage the preservation of the existing structures.  Specific standards were adopted for the adaptive reuse of the existing structures, along with compatibility standards in order to ensure the compatibility of uses within the CC-1 zone.  Additionally, specific standards were adopted for conversions of single-family homes to commercial structures/uses, where such uses may involve entertainment and/or alcohol sales, as well as specific standards for shared outside eating areas.

On November 2, 2017, the Planning Commission held a Public Hearing to consider Amendment No. A-021-2017.  At the hearing, no one spoke in favor of or in opposition to the proposed Amendment.  The Planning Commission voted 5-0, with two (2) commissioners absent, to adopt Resolution No. 5904-17 and recommend that the City Council adopt Amendment No. A-021-2017 and determine that the Amendment is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.

The Mixed-Use Regulations and Development Standards in Chapter 9.18 permit restaurant uses that include alcohol sales or entertainment, subject to approval of a conditional use permit.  Outdoor dining areas for joint use between businesses are also permitted in Mixed Use zoning districts, subject to certain development standards. However, the current regulations contain conflicting provisions regarding alcohol consumption within shared or communal dining areas in the CC-1 zoning district and do not currently include any development standards or regulations for uses in the CC-3 zone that involve entertainment and/or alcohol sales or consumption, whether in a non-communal or communal dining area(s).  In addition, entertainment within communal dining areas is not expressly addressed.  A review of the Municipal Code (“Code”) disclosed that there is a need to amend the City’s Land Use Code pertaining to uses that involve entertainment and/or alcohol sales or consumption in the CC-1 and CC-3 zones in order to more fully implement the vision for these areas expressed in the General Plan.

The proposed zoning text amendments to Title 9 of the Municipal Code would update the definitions, operating conditions, and development standards in the City’s Land Use Code pertaining to uses in the CC-1 (Civic Center East) and CC-3 (Civic Center Core) zones, that involve entertainment and/or alcohol sales or consumption in order to clarify the buffering, distance, and conditional use permit requirements applicable to uses involving entertainment and/or alcohol sales or consumption in these two zones.  In addition, the proposed code amendment would establish specific additional operating conditions and development standards for indoor and outdoor joint use or communal dining areas where entertainment and/or the consumption of alcohol takes place and specify that a communal dining area involving entertainment and/or alcohol consumption is a conditionally permitted use in the CC-1 (Civic Center East) and CC-3 (Civic Center Core) zones.

The proposed zoning text amendments will establish a new use and definition for “Communal Dining with Entertainment and/or Alcohol”, which would be subject to provisions that include the following:

• That a conditional use permit is required;
  
  
• That entertainment shall only be permitted within a confined space with proper sound attenuation or within a wholly enclosed building;
  
  
• That outdoor communal dining areas where alcohol is served and/or consumed must be located in a controlled area or group of areas with monitored entrances and exits and enclosed by a perimeter barrier; and
  
  
• That the conditional use permit shall specify the requirements and the party or parties responsible for monitoring, managing and controlling the communal dining area(s).

Furthermore, the conditional use permit review process ensures that any use in the CC-1 and CC-3 zones involving entertainment and/or alcohol sales or consumption: will be appropriately buffered from adjacent residential uses; will not be contrary to the public interest or injurious to nearby properties; will not unreasonably interfere with the use and enjoyment of neighboring property; and will not interfere with the operation of other businesses or uses within the area.  

Parking Spaces and Turning Aisles within Required Setbacks:

Currently, development standards applicable to all Mixed Use zones prohibit parking spaces, and turning aisles to parking spaces, to be located within any portion of required setbacks.  Many Mixed Use zoned properties in the City are small in size, and have limited space available for projects that require improvements such as new driveways, drive aisles, and/or parking spaces. 

For example, most properties in the CC-1 zone are small-sized parcels developed with existing single-family dwellings. Development standards of the CC-1 zone allow for the conversion of a single-family dwelling to a commercial structure/use with a particular focus on preserving existing structures to maintain neighborhood character.  With the existing development standards in place, it is difficult to meet the intent of the CC-1 zone, which is to preserve existing older structures, while also providing for required improvements such as drive aisles and parking spaces. 

The proposed zoning text amendments to Title 9 of the Municipal Code will address the need and allowance of parking spaces, and turning aisles to parking spaces, to be located within required setbacks, with landscaped buffering required in certain situations.  The proposed modifications to the Code will allow future developments to incorporate better site plan design, increased feasibility for the provision of adequate parking and vehicular circulation, while complying with all other development standards.

It is recommended that the City Council:

• Conduct a Public Hearing;

• Determine that the Ordinance is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Section 15061(b)(3); and,

• Introduce and conduct the first reading of the attached Ordinance approving Amendment No. A-021-2017 to amend Title 9 of the Municipal Code to update the definitions, operating conditions, and development standards pertaining to (i) uses within the City’s Civic Center Mixed Use zoning districts that involve entertainment and/or alcohol sales or consumption and (ii) permissible encroachments into the setbacks in the Civic Center Mixed Use zoning districts.

By:  Chris Chung, Associate Planner