PLANNING COMMISSION PREVIEW

CAR STORAGE BUSINESS

A Bristol Street businessman will ask the Planning Commission tonight

to allow him to build a two-story car storage building without the

required space from the building to the rear of the property.

Property owner Dave Conant wants to demolish the existing structures

at 1192 Bristol St. and build a 8,145-square-foot car storage structure.

The first story of the building would hold Conant’s personal car

collection, according to a staff report. The second would serve as

traditional storage space.

The commercial lot backs up to houses, and so the proposed building is

required to be 36 feet from the rear property line. Conant has proposed

no space between the building and the property line and therefore needs a

variance.

What to expect:

Planning Commissioners are expected to deny Conant’s variance request.

GROUP COUNSELING

Planning Commissioners will review a proposed law that would demand

more stringent requirements for the approval of group counseling centers,

drafted to alleviate many of the problems associated with the businesses.

In two previous applications for group counseling centers, planning

commissioners heard from about a dozen neighboring business owners

complaining about the problems that counseling clientele bring to an

area. Many complained of people using drugs, drinking and even urinating

in the parking lot before and after counseling sessions.

The Planning Commission asked the city attorney’s office to research

whether the city had a right to single out such businesses and hold them

to higher standards for approval. According to the staff report, the

proposed law would create a conflict with the Americans With Disabilities

Act, as many addicts are considered disabled.

What to expect:

The Planning Commission is expected to drop a formal ordinance but

will compile a list of recommended standards for future approval of such

businesses.

OKI DOKI RESTAURANT

The owner of the Oki Doki restaurant is hoping planning commissioners

will say exactly that to a request to extend his business hours.

Yang B. Kim owns the eatery at 3033 Bristol St. and wants to keep his

place open until 1 a.m. because he serves alcohol. It now closes at 8

p.m. Because the restaurant is less than 200 feet from homes, the city

requires it to close by 11 p.m.

While Oki Doki neighbors an apartment complex to the west, most of the

parking and access to the restaurant is on the east and should allow for

enough of a buffer zone, a staff report stated.

What to expect:

Planning Commissioners are expected to approve the extension of hours.

AMBULANCE STATION

The Planning Commission will review a request for a 24-hour ambulance

station on Harbor Boulevard, which would house an office, crew and two

ambulances.

Schaeffer Ambulance wants to run its business out of an

880-square-foot space in the Commerce Park complex, which houses a

variety of commercial uses.

The proposed suite is two floors with a reception area, office and

restroom on the first and two more offices and a restroom on the second.

Schaeffer Ambulance wants to convert the first floor to sleeping quarters

for two overnight crew members and make the second story into a

television lounge area. Although the office would be open 24 hours a day,

no more than five crew members would be on-site per day.

What to expect:

Planning staff is recommending approval.

FYI

* WHO: Costa Mesa Planning Commission meeting

* WHEN: 6:30 p.m. tonight

* WHERE: Council Chambers at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.

* INFORMATION: (714)754-5245.