ZA 2016-1920-CUB ENV-2016-192-EAF CUB 6/1/2016 Lisette Covarrubias
CONDITIONAL USE A T T A C H M E N T – 1 1124 S San Julian Street, Unit 101 Los Angeles, CA 90015 Representative: Applicant: Elizabeth Peterson Group, Inc. SDLA, LLC 400 S. Main Street #808 238 Capp Street Los Angeles, CA 90013 San Francisco, CA 94110 T: 213-620-1904 T: (415)-215-2819 F: 213-620-1587 elizabeth@epgla.com Pursuant to 12.24-W,1, the applicant requests a new Conditional Use to permit the sales and service of a full-line of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption in conjunction with a new 333-seat 9,571 SF interior restaurant with an additional 124 seats on a 1,777 SF outdoor patio. Requesting live entertainment and hours of operation 8am-12am Sun-Thu and 8am-1am Fri-Sat. Background: Slanted Door is a restaurant providing customers with a modern take on Vietnamese cuisine. Serving San Francisco since 1995, the restaurant has a menu that has become overwhelming popular with a diverse customer base throughout the San Francisco area. Executive Chef Charles Phan travels to the original source of each item on his menu to study the traditional Vietnamese techniques, ingredients, and flavors for premium food quality. He then makes the food his own by recreating the dishes with modern influences and fresh local ingredients. The Slanted Door is committed to staying local and has partnered with many San Francisco purveyors such as Strauss Family Creamery, Dirt Girl Produce, and Star Route Farms. It is in these strong local partnerships that the restaurant is able to serve delicious cuisine while practicing sustainability. The restaurant has been praised by The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Zagat, Epicurious, The San Francisco Chronicle, and has even been awarded The Outstanding Restaurant Award by the James Beard Foundation in 2014. With an outstanding track record and success, Slanted Door is excited to be opening an off-shoot of its San Francisco restaurant here in Los Angeles. The request for a new Conditional Use to permit the sales and service of a full-line of alcoholic beverages is in conjunction with this new location. The proposed restaurant is sited at 1124 South San Julian Street in the City Market South development. The building is two stories tall and has a basement level. The 2 nd story will be leased as office space. Slanted Door will occupy the Northwest portion of the 1 st floor and a portion of the basement. RossoBlu, which was entitled under ZA-2015-3280-MPA, will occupy the rest of the 1 st floor and basement; it is under construction currently. Both will have their own patios outside. The building was entitled under the Master Conditional Use (ZA-2014-1980-MCUP-ZV) for alcohol sales in conjunction with 3 proposed restaurants and 1 market, but at the time of filing the tenants were unknown. The space was subsequently leased to two restaurants instead of three. Due to an increase in floor area and seat count, the requests herein sought are under a new Conditional Use permit. The redevelopment of City Market South is pivotal to the revitalization of this neighborhood. The request for alcohol sales in conjunction with the proposed restaurant in the City Market South development will aid in achieving this vision for the area. General Conditional Use Findings i. That the project will enhance the built environment in the surrounding neighborhood or will perform a function or provide a service that is essential or beneficial to the community, city, or region.
The approval of this request will enhance the built environment and benefit the community, city and region. While the Fashion District has many daytime visitors, it does not provide them a wide variety of food or many reasons to stay past 5pm. The proposed restaurant will serve this patron base and will draw increased foot traffic into the evening, benefitting public safety and adding a much needed amenity in the area. Further, City Market South has over 30,000 square feet of office uses and is in the process of leasing those out to tenants. The restaurant will most directly serve these future office workers and will afford them a unique, and high-caliber dining option to meet clients for meetings, grab dinner with coworkers after work, and engage with other companies located in the development. The requested alcohol sales is customary for this type of full-service restaurant and is a much-desired amenity for restaurant goers. The applicant is well-versed in the food and beverage industry and will ensure that the operations are responsibly managed. The restaurant will complement the existing garment/office buildings surrounding the development as it will provide those workers the added amenity of a full-service restaurant. There will be substantial greenery and a reactivated outdoor landscape that will positively add vibrancy to the streetscape and deter nuisance and vagrant activities. ii. That the project’s location, size, height, operations and other significant features will be compatible with and will not adversely affect or further degrade adjacent properties, the surrounding neighborhood, or the public health, welfare, and safety. The project’s location, size, height and operations will be compatible with and will not adversely affect or degrade adjacent properties while also benefiting the public health, welfare and safety. The project is located in the Fashion District; surrounding properties are developed with commercial wholesale retailers and wholesale marts with the Santee Alley shopping area within walking distance to the site. The proposed restaurant is compatible with these uses. The restaurant is a part of the City Market South redevelopment and will catalyze the establishment of the Fashion District as a full-service 24/7 neighborhood. It will provide a central area for patrons, tenants, and workers of City Market South to gather and enjoy outdoor dining and open space and be a convenient spot for the many employees and visitors to the surrounding area. The applicant is repurposing an existing tenant space in the existing building last used as a wholesale produce mart; as such, the project’s size and height will not be alter ed. The building is similarly sized to surrounding buildings as well. There will be valet available to those coming to the restaurant as well as bicycle parking spaces. The façade will be well-lit and there will be security on-site. There will be other restaurants, and bars on-site that have similar hours of operation and entitlements for alcohol. Therefore, it aligns with its surrounding neighboring uses. The restaurant will draw pedestrian foot-traffic and bring activity to this area past 5pm, bolstering public safety and creating a light, vibrant presence in the area. Through reactivating this large and vacant space and providing much- needed open space with an extensive outdoor patio, the project will benefit public health through deterring crime, nuisance and vagrancy while giving the building a much-needed facelift. The restaurant with alcohol sales will be a unique dining spot that will serve the surrounding office workers, visitors and residents in the area. iii. That the project substantially conforms with the purpose, intent and provisions of the General Plan, the applicable community plan, and any applicable specific plan. The project substantially conforms with the purposes, intent, and provisions of the General Plan, the applicable community plan and any applicable specific plan. The project is located in the Central City Community Plan and is located in a M2 zone having a Light Manufacturing Land Use Designation. Restaurants are allowable by-right in the M2 zone and the applicant is not requesting deviation from any zoning regulation except for the requested conditional use herein sought for alcohol sales – a typical amenity offered at full-service restaurants and well-sought after by restaurant goers. The Community Plan emphasizes a number of issues that need attention including “lack of neighborhood -oriented businesses to support residential areas,” “lack of the nec essary mix of retail to attract a variety of users to the downtown area in the evenings and on weekends, ” and “perceived lack of safety and cleanliness.” Each
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