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4 - Call Up: Use Review for 1310 College Ave Woodruff Burgers within Hilltop Plaza Food Court (LUR2009-00049) MEMORANDUM TO: Planning Board FROM: Elaine McLaughlin, Case Manager DATE: October 28, 2009 SUBJECT: Call Up Item: Approval of Use Review for 1 310 College Avc. Woodruff Burgers within the 1-filltop Plaza Food Court (LUR2009-00049) Attached is the Use Review Notice of Disposition of Approval for a proposed 1,014 square foot cafe within the Hilltop Plaza Food Court. Staff finds the application meets the Use Review criteria of section 9-2-15(h), B.R.C 1981. The proposed project is located in the BMS (Business Main Street) zoning district and requires staff-level Use lZeview for restaurants over 1,500 square fleet that close after 11:00 p.m. Refer to Attachment A signed Disposition of Approval. Background. As shown in Attachment B, the Hilltop Plaza Building is located in the University Flill commercial district and is a mixed use building with cafe food court uses on the first floor (which is essentially a garden level space), and offices, retail, personal services uses along with a police substation on the second floor. Across 13r" Street from the Hilltop Plaza Building is the Flatiron Theater, and across College Ave. from the Hilltop Plaza Building are various retail and service commercial uses. Proiect Description. As shown in the management plan, provided in Attachment C the applicant proposes to serve sandwiches, omelettes and burgers within a 1,014 square foot space that is a partitioned space within the Hilltop Plaza food court. The cafe is allocated approximately 20 seats within the food court conunon area as shown in Attachment D. The proposed hours of operation for the cafe in the food court would be from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. Other food court cafes within the Hilltop Building include Boulder Baked, Dessert Queen, Jumbo Thai Express, Shiskabob Supreme, and Teriyaki Madness. Two neighborhood meetings were held. The first one was On Aug. 3, 2009 and there was one neighbor attendee who articulated support for the proposed project. Because the applicant requested to extend their hours of operation from 1:30- to 3:30 a.m., staff requested the applicant hold a second neighborhood meeting. Although the public noticing requirements of Section 9-4-3, R.R.C. 1981 were f iltilled, there were no neighbors who came to the meeting on Aug. 31, 2009. A letter of support was received and is provided in Attachment E. Also provided is the Use Review Criteria checklist in Attachment F, demonstrating consistency of the proposed pro-iect with Section 9-2-15 (e). No alcohol is proposed to be served within this restaurant- Hilltop 1311iIcling' + Fox Theater ' ''J - J r C r~_Ilegr r~\'~n[ZC" - 4, Address: 1310 College Attachment A: Notice of Disposition CITY OF BOULDER Planning and Development Services f 1739 Broadway, Third Floor • P.O. Box 791, Boulder, CO 80306-0791 phone 303-441-1880 • fax 303-441-3241 • web boulderplandevelop. net IY4 1 CITY OF BOULDER PLANNING DEPARTMENT NOTICE OF DISPOSITION You are hereby advised that the following action was taken by the Planning Department based on the standards and criteria of the Land Use Regulations as set forth in Chapter 9-2, B.R.C. 1981, as applied to the proposed development. DECISION: APPROVAL WITH CONDITIONS PROJECT NAME: WOODRUFF BURGERS IN HILLTOP PLAZA FOOD COURT DESCRIPTION: USE REVIEW: Woodruff Burgers, a 1,014 square foot hamburger restaurant proposed within Hilltop Plaza closed from 3:30 a.m to 7:00 a.m. seven days per week. LOCATION: 1310 COLLEGE AVENUE COOR: N01 W06 LEGAL DESCRIPTION: West 74 feet of Lots 1 and 2, and all of Lots 3 and 4, Block 3, UNIVERSITY PLACE, County of Boulder, State of Colorado APPLICANT: WILLIAM BRAUN OWNER: GCP HILLTOP PLAZA LL'C APPLICATION: Use Review, LUR2009-00049 ZONING: BMS CASE MANAGER: Elaine McLaughlin VESTED PROPERTY RIGHT: NO; the owner has waived the opportunity to create such right under Section 9-2-19, B.R.C. 1981. FOR CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL, SEE THE FOLLOWING PAGES OF THIS DISPOSITION. Approved on: Ih V ' ~Z'6 Dal By: Da id Driskell, Executive Director of Community Planning and Sustainability This decision may be appealed to the Planning Board by filing an appeal letter with the Planning Department within two weeks of the decision date. If no such appeal is filed, the decision shall be deemed final fourteen days after the date above mentioned. Appeal to Planning Board expires: IN ORDER FOR A BUILDING PERMIT APPLICATION TO BE PROCESSED FOR THIS PROJECT, A SIGNED DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT AND SIGNED MYLAR PLANS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT WITH DISPOSITION CONDITIONS AS APPROVED SHOWN ON THE MYLAR PLANS, IF THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT IS NOT SIGNED WITHIN NINETY (90) DAYS OF THE FINAL DECISION DATE, THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT APPROVAL AUTOMATICALLY EXPIRES. Address: 1310 College Avenue a Pursuant to Section 9-2-12 of the Land Use Regulations (Boulder Revised Code, 1981), the applicant must begin and substantially complete the approved development within three years from the date of final approval [or in compliance with the phasing plan]. Failure to "substantially complete" (as defined in Section 9-2-12) the development within three years [or in compliance with the phasing plan] shall cause this development approval to expire. CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL 1. The Applicant shall be responsible for ensuring that the development shall be in compliance with all approved plans dated April 15, 2009 and the written statement dated July 6, 2009 on file in the City of Boulder Planning Department. Further, the Applicant shall ensure that the restaurant is operated in compliance with the following restrictions: a. The size of the restaurant shall be limited to 1,014 s.f. together with seating space within the Hilltop Plaza Food Court and the common facilities serving the use, including the building entry and restrooms. b. The restaurant shall be closed from 3:30 a.m. through 7:00 a_m., seven days per week. c. Trash and bottles shall not be removed to outside trash containers between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. d. No outdoor music or outside seating is permitted with this approval. 2. The Applicant shall not expand or modify the approved use, except pursuant to subsection 9-2-15(h), B.R.C. 1981. Address: 1310 College Avenue 3 Attachment B: Vicinity Map City of Boulder Vicinity Map Pleasant St Pennsylvania Av BMS a~ P Subject Area College Av 1310 College Ave I 1 V); T T T ~ RH-5- Euclid Av Subject RL-1 ~ i I - - Location: 9390 College Ave / Project Name: Woodruff in Hilltop Building On, Review Type: Use Review 130uhl rr The iWormalion depicted on this map is pro-Aded NORTH Review Number: LUR2009-00049 as graptutal rep-e.lalmn, only The Cily of Uo Ade, proddes no wanafdy. expressed or implied, as to Applicant: Woodruff--William Braun 1 inch - 250 feet the accuracy andror completeness of the Informallon contained hereon Address: 1310 College Avenue Attachment C: Management Plan Management Plan for Woodruff, LLC. The purpose of this management plan is to address the following: A. Purpose of this "Use Review" as requested from the City of Moulder Planning and Development Services department. B. Intensity of use, noise generated, and the amount of traffic generated. C. Coordinated tunes for deliveries and trash collection- D. Mitigation of noise impacts. E. Employee Education. F. Methods of dispute resolution with surrounding residential neighborhood- G. Hours of Operation. H. Security. 1. Drug and Alcohol Policy. J. Loitering. K. Graffiti Removal The purpose of this Use Review: Woodruff, LLC d.b.a. Woodruff is applying for a use review to be granted the ability to expand to it's desired operating hours of 7:00 am- 3:30 am seven days a week at the location of 1310 College Ave. The hours of operation for Woodniff are a crucial part of the designed business and are necessary to compete with neighboring restaurants. We are very interested in supplying a unique product to people who enjoy food during late night hours, including those who attend shows at the Fox Theatre. The intensity of use, noise generated, and the amount of traffic generated: The intensity of use would not be affected as we are located in a food court on the hill and we have already been given permission to operate under the requested hours. The physical location within the food court was previously occupied by Boulder Baked, which stayed open until 2.00 am every night and moved from that location less than a year ago. There will be little noise generated from the operation of our business during late night hours, as we will not be serving alcoholic beverages. Noise will also be limited because we are located within the food court and do not have a storefront that is directly on the sidewalk of College Ave. Being that we are located within a food court, we are able to provide indoor seating to more people than any other business on the hill that operates during late night hours. The amount of indoor seating can contribute to the limitation of noise entering the surrounding blocks of residential homes. The amount of traffic generated will change very little being that the majority of people who purchase food products during late night hours are on foot. Many of them walk from housing that is also located on the hill and within walking distance of Woodruff and Address: 1310 College Avenue others come from the Fox Theatre, which is located right around the corner. We have experienced and currently experience living on the Hill and have noticed that most people realize that it is hard to find parking on the hill. As a result, people choose to walk rather than drive creating more foot traffic rather than road traffic. Coordinated times for deliveries and trash collection: Our vendor allows us the freedom of scheduling deliveries that work within our preferred time schedule. We will contact every other restaurant on the Hill, find their schedules for regular deliveries and coordinate the best times for our deliveries. We will coordinate the deliveries so that we do not interfere with other businesses on the Hill and also during times that will not create an increase in traffic. It is also apparent that our deliveries can be made through an entrance located on the side of our building, which would bring delivery trucks into an alley rather than create a blockage in the main road. Trash collection already exists in the alley on the side of the building, and our food distributor can fulfill our deliveries on the same truck as Bento Zanmai, a restaurant within the Hilltop Plaza food court. Mitigation of Noise Impacts: Being that we are located on the far side of a food court that is half a floor level below ground, any noise created from the operation of our business cannot be heard from outside the building. Being that we will be operating as a fast food restaurant, customers will be at our location for a minimal amount of time, which will help prevent large crowds from forming. With the speed of our operation as well as our position within the food court, we will efficiently mitigate noise impacts. Employee Education: In addition to training new employees, we will also hold bimonthly employee meetings. Included in the meetings will be specific topics regarding employee safety, correct behavior, customer relations, and problems and resolutions. Our business practices regarding the courtesy for the city of Boulder and the hill community will extend to our employees. Methods of dispute resolutions with the surrounding residential neighborhood: We will do whatever possible to avoid any kind of dispute with the surrounding residential and commercial neighborhood. If we ever have a dispute with anyone within the surrounding neighborhood or beyond, we will figure out the best way to resolve the issue and come to an agreement. We are dedicated to bringing a great new food service business to the hill community without causing any kind of disruption- Hours of Operation: Address: 1310 College Avenue The hours of operation for Woodruff are very important in'its business plan. We plan on being open from 7:00 am to 3:30 am, allowing us to extend to the early morning and night customers. Boulder Baked, the previous occupant of our desired location, operated until 2:00 am every night until August of 2008 when they decided to move to a new location. We believe that much of our business will come during those extended working hours, so it is crucial that we are open then. Security: We will train employees and hire employees to the best of our ability in order to create a responsible, well-trained staff. In addition, there is a security officer that monitors the food court and is on-call if we were to ever have a problem- Drug and Alcohol Policy: Woodruff has a zero tolerance policy for employees using drugs or alcohol while on the job. Loitering: Woodruff has a zero tolerance policy for loitering inside and outside of our location. If we come across loiterers, we will kindly ask them to leave. If the problem persists, we will contact the hilltop plaza security officer. Graffiti Removal: Graffiti will be prevented within the food court, as we will be monitoring the facility during our operation. Any graffiti drawn on the exterior of our surrounding area will be removed as soon as possible. Address: 1310 College Avenue Attachment F: Consistency with Use Review Criteria USE REVIEW CRITERIA ,f(1) Consistency with Zoning and Non-Conformity: The use is consistent with the purpose of the zoning district as set forth in Section 9-5-2. "Zoning Districts Established," B.R.C. 1981, except in the case of a non-conforming use; The subject property is located within the BMS (Business Main Street) zoning district which is generally anchored around a main street and intended to serve the surrounding residential neighborhood. The small restaurant is consistent with the zoning as it is located within a ground floor food court with office uses above. (2) Rationale: The use either: _f (A) Provides direct service or convenience to, or reduces adverse impacts to, the surrounding uses or neighborhood; The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner that is easily accessible to the surrounding mixed residential neighborhood. The neighborhood is comprised of single family, multi-family and boarding house types of residential such as sorority and fraternity houses. In addition, the restaurant intends to serve late night attendees of nearby performance venues such as the Fox Theater located across the street. (B) Provides a compatible transition between higher intensity and lower intensity uses; The restaurant, located within an existing food court, contributes to the transition between the higher intensity uses along 13th Street within the University Hill Business District, and the lower intensity residential areas surrounding the site. (C) Is necessary to foster a specific city policy, as expressed in the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, including, without limitation, historic preservation, moderate income housing, residential and non-residential mixed uses in appropriate locations, and group living arrangements for special populations; The small restaurant is consistent with Policy 2.27 - Variety of Activity Centers, as described in the following excerpt. "The city and county support a variety of regional, subcommunity and neighborhood activity centers where people congregate for a variety of activities such as working, shopping, going to school, or day care, recreating and residing." n/a (D) Is an existing legal non-conforming use or a change thereto that is permitted under subsection (e) of this section; Application is not for a legal non-conforming use. 3) Compatibility: The location, size, design, and operating characteristics of the proposed development or change to an existing development are such that the use will be reasonably Address: 1310 College Avenue Ia compatible with and have minimal negative impact on the use of nearby properties or for residential uses in industrial zoning districts, the proposed development reasonably mitigates the potential negative impacts from nearby properties;. The small restaurant will be integrated into an existing food court space within the Hilltop Plaza Building. The operating characteristics provide for hours of operation from 7:00 a.m. until 3:30 a.m. seven days per week. Two separate neighborhood meetings were held to determine if there were concerns about the late hour closings. The first meeting was, held with the applicant proposing a 1:30 a.m. closing. One person from the surrounding area came and noted support for the project- After the applicant decided to amend their application to provide for a later closing of 3:30 a.m., to serve the nearby performance venues that closed at 2:30 a.m., a second neighborhood meeting was held. There were no neighborhood attendees in opposition. Support letters were provided to staff for the application. In addition, impacts that are often associated with late night services such as outdoor music or alcohol sales are not a part of this application. In addition, staff notes that there is a police substation located within the same building as the proposed restaurant, that would likely deter criminal activity in this location. V_ (4) Infrastructure: As compared to development permitted under Section 9-6-1, "Schedule of Permitted Uses of Land," B.R.C. 1981, in the zone, or as compared to the existing level of impact of a non-conforming use, the proposed development will not significantly adversely affect the infrastructure of the surrounding area, including, without limitation, water, wastewater, and storm drainage utilities and streets; The small restaurant, compared to development permitted under the same zoning district, will not adversely affect infrastructure, rather is integrated into an existing space that was already established for a restaurant use. (5) Character of Area: The use will not change the predominant character of the surrounding area; The small restaurant within the food court will not change the predominant character but would be consistent with the Business Main Street characteristics. n/a (6) Conversion of Dwellinq Units to Non-Residential Uses: There shall be a presumption against approving the conversion of dwelling units in the residential zoning districts to non-residential uses that are allowed pursuant to a use review, or through the change of one non-conforming use to another non-conforming use. The presumption against such a conversion may be overcome by a finding that the use to be approved serves another compelling social, human services, governmental, or recreational need in the community including, without limitation, a use for a day care center, park, religious assembly, social service use, benevolent organization use, art or craft studio space, museum, or an educational use. The application is not for a conversion of dwelling units to non-residential uses. Address: 1310 College Avenue 11