REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 09/06/2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Planning and Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 2023-0016 TO ESTABLISH A VETERINARY CLINIC AT 1973 FOOTHILL PARKWAY, SUITE 103, WITHIN THE COMMERCIAL DESIGNATION OF THE EL CERRITO SPECIFIC PLAN (APPLICANT: CHANTE D. TRAN C/O DR. TRAN’S VETERINARY CLINIC, LLC.)
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to affirm the Planning and Housing Commission’s action granting Conditional Use Permit 2023-0016 (CUP2023-0016). CUP2023-0016 will establish a 1,611 square-foot veterinary clinic within an existing commercial center. The zoning of the project site is Commercial of the El Cerrito Specific Plan, which allows veterinary clinics with a conditional use permit, which is the reason for CUP2023-0016.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
a. Take no action, thereby affirming the Planning and Housing Commission’s action granting CUP2023-0016, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
OR
b. Set the item for review at a subsequent meeting.
Body
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The project site is located on 9.76 acres and is part of the Foothill Center, which consists of various commercial service uses, restaurants and a hotel. The project site is entirely developed and the veterinary clinic will occupy a tenant space within the existing in-line commercial building located at 1973 Foothill Parkway.
ANALYSIS:
The veterinary clinic will provide routine care for cats and dogs, as well as preventative care services such as vaccinations, surgeries, diagnostics, and other small animal care needs. The clinic also intends to provide emergency services during normal business hours. All operations will be contained inside the building. The veterinary clinic proposes to operate from 8 AM to 6 PM, Monday through Friday, and from 9 AM to 1 PM on Saturdays.
The applicant has stated that there will rarely be a need for the clinic to provide overnight hospitalization. If there was a need to keep a patient overnight, it would be for no more than 48 hours, and as such, no long-term boarding services will be provided at this location. In case critical care is needed for a patient, the veterinary clinic may transfer these critical cases to a 24-hour animal emergency center.
Parking
The project site contains surface parking throughout the entire commercial center. The parking requirements for the Foothill Center were analyzed when the center was originally approved by Precise Plan 10-001 (PP10-001).
The City’s parking requirement for animal hospitals is one space per 200 square feet of floor area (1:200). The veterinary clinic requires eight (8) parking spaces. Including the veterinary clinic, the center as a whole requires a minimum of 405 parking spaces; which equals the total amount of on-site parking provided. All parking spaces are shared among tenants within the center.
Access and Circulation
The Foothill Center has its primary entrance on Foothill Parkway and another entrance on Via Gunnoe Court. The proposed veterinary clinic is accessible from any of the entrances. The on-site circulation was previously analyzed and approved under PP10-001. This application does not propose any changes or result in any impacts on the shopping center’s on-site circulation.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid the application processing fee of $7,813.14 to cover the cost of the Conditional Use Permit.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15301 (Class 1 Existing Facilities) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states an operation of an existing structure involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use is exempt from CEQA. This project consists of establishing a veterinary clinic within an existing commercial building. All operations associated with the veterinary clinic will be contained entirely inside the building. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting on August 7, 2023, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Alexander/Siqueland) and carried unanimously, with Commissioner Sherman absent, that the Planning and Housing Commission find the project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 and adopt Resolution No. 2613 granting CUP2023-0016, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval. The minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting are included as Exhibit 4.
REVIEWED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Locational and zoning map
2. Exhibit 2 - Site plan for CUP2023-0016
3. Exhibit 3 - Planning and Housing Commission staff report
4. Exhibit 4 - Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of August 7, 2023