The project was reviewed pursuant to the guidelines of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and determined to be categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15303, Class 3: “New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures” of the CEQA Guidelines. The project involves establishing and operating a new drive-through restaurant within an existing 1,900 square foot building that was previously occupied by a drive-through pharmacy. The project primarily involves facade improvements and interior tenant improvements. No new square footage is being proposed as part of this project; therefore, the building will not exceed 2,500 square feet in floor area. Furthermore, the existing site will essentially remain the same except for the addition of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) improvements and installation of new landscape material within existing planting areas.  The proposed restaurant will not involve the use of significant amounts of hazardous substances. The project is not subject to any of the exceptions for exemption under Section 15300.2 of the CEQA Guidelines. The location of the project is predominantly urban and not considered a sensitive environment; therefore, the project will not result in any significant impacts that may otherwise occur in a sensitive environmental area. The project is not located along any state designated scenic highway nor within any designated hazardous waste site. The City does not expect any significant impacts or unusual circumstances related to the approval and construction of this project. Therefore, the project is categorically exempt from CEQA.

That the Planning Commission approve and adopt:

A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LA HABRA, CALIFORNIA, MAKING THE REQUIRED FINDINGS AND APPROVING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT 24-0002 TO ESTABLISH AND OPERATE A DRIVE-THROUGH RESTAURANT (7 LEAVES CAFE) WITH AN OUTDOOR MENU BOARD WITHIN AN EXISTING, LEGAL NON-CONFORMING BUILDING AND SITE LOCATED AT 101 WEST IMPERIAL HIGHWAY, AS PER THE APPROVED PLANS AND SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS, AND MAKING THE DETERMINATION THAT THE PROJECT IS EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) PURSUANT TO SECTION 15303, CLASS 3: “NEW CONSTRUCTION OR CONVERSION OF SMALL STRUCTURES” OF THE CEQA GUIDELINES.

The Applicant, Michael Trang, is requesting to establish and operate a new 7 Leaves Cafe drive-through restaurant with an outdoor menu board within an existing, legal non-conforming, 1,900 square-foot building that was previously occupied by a drive-through pharmacy (Walgreens Pharmacy). The proposed restaurant will offer coffee and tea beverages and a variety of prepackaged items including, but not limited to, ham and brie croissants, croffles and baked macarons. The drive-through and indoor hours of operation will both be from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily. Approximately six to 10 employees will manage the business operations during each work shift. Deliveries are scheduled twice per week at 5:00 a.m. to avoid business traffic.

As shown in Exhibit 1 below, the approximate 0.56-acre site is located at the northwest corner of West Imperial Highway and South Euclid Street at 101 West Imperial Highway. The subject property is designated by the General Plan for Residential Multi-Unit 1 land use and is located within the R-4 Multi-Unit Dwelling Zone. The subject property is not identified in the General Plan Housing Element as a site to meet the City's Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) allocation. 

On December 21, 1995, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1493 (Attachment 6) approving Planned Unit Development (PUD) Precise Plan 95-02 to construct a commercial drive-through building on the subject property (see Attachment 7). In 1995, at the time the City Council approved PUD Precise Plan 95-02, the property was designated by the General Plan for Commercial Industrial land use and located within the PC-I Planned Commercial-Industrial Zone. In 2010, in conjunction with an update to the La Habra General Plan, the property was designated for Residential Multi-Unit 1 land use and the zoning was changed to the R-4 Multi-Unit Dwelling Zone. The site, building and existing drive-through use are considered legal non-conforming because, although they were established legally, they do not currently comply with the La Habra Municipal Code (LHMC) requirements for the R-4 Zone. Pursuant to LHMC Section 18.08.070.A (Nonconforming buildings and uses), a non-conforming building may be continued and maintained provided that there is no increase or enlargement in usable floor area or intensification of the building as determined by the Director of Community Development. Pursuant to LHMC 18.08.070.C, a nonconforming use may be maintained and continued provided there is no increase or enlargement of the area, space or volume, occupied or devoted to such nonconforming use, except as otherwise provided in the Zoning Ordinance.

The Applicant is proposing to continue the legal non-conforming use per the requirements set forth in LHMC Section 18.08.070.  As further described below, the Applicant has designed the proposed project to contain all usable floor area within the existing commercial drive-through building.  Staff anticipate that the addition of the outdoor menu board will further ensure that the proposed project is not an intensification of the prior use because it will facilitate the smooth circulation of traffic through the site and ensure that all restaurant traffic is contained on-site. In addition, the Applicant has provided a queuing analysis, further described below, confirming that the drive-through queue would be able to accommodate the change in use from a drive-through pharmacy to a drive-through restaurant. In addition, as also described below, the proposed use is screened out as "a local service use" from Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) analysis, indicating that no significant VMT impacts would result from the proposed project. Therefore, the Director of Community Development has determined that there is no increase or enlargement in usable floor area or intensification of the building.

Furthermore, pursuant to LHMC Section 18.36.110 (Conformance), staff has determined that the proposed project is in substantial conformance with the previously approved PUD Precise Plan 95-02, including the associated site plan. The proposed project remains compatible with the surrounding uses, contains all traffic on-site, is well integrated into the existing setting, and meets all other requirements in place at the time of approval of PUD Precise Plan 95-02. Therefore, staff is not requiring a new or modification of the previously-approved PUD Precise Plan 95-02.

PUD Precise Plan 95-02 vested the property owner's right to develop the property in accordance with the PC-I Zone, which allows a restaurant use, subject to the approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) pursuant to LHMC Section 18.06.040 (Land Uses). Therefore, the Applicant has submitted Conditional Use Permit 24-0002 for the Planning Commission's consideration.

Detailed plans for the proposed project are provided in Attachments 3 and 4 and summarized below. As noted above and shown in Exhibit 2, the existing site layout will remain generally the same. Vehicles will continue to enter the site from driveways on both West Imperial Highway and South Euclid Street and either travel towards the drive-through queue or park in one of the 15 parking spaces located along the south and east sides of the property. There is an existing, non-conforming 20-foot high, freestanding pole sign located in the southeast corner of the parcel that is considered an abandoned sign structure because it has not been utilized for more than 60 days. As a result, pursuant to LHMC Section 18.23.110 (Nonconforming signs), the Applicant will remove the abandoned pole sign as a part of this project.

Pursuant to LHMC 18.14.060 (Number of Spaces Required), a minimum of eight parking spaces is required per thousand square feet of building area for a drive-through restaurant; therefore, 15 spaces are required for the proposed project. The existing site has 16 parking spaces. In order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Applicant will be removing one existing parking space in order to accommodate an ADA van accessible parking space and the required ADA path-of-travel to both the building and the public right-of-way. The remaining 15 parking spaces will be sufficient to comply with the City's parking requirements. In addition, as a condition of approval of PUD Precise Plan 95-02, a reciprocal access and parking agreement was required between the subject property and the property to the north and west (both under the same ownership).  A Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) to this effect was recorded on June 13, 1996. 

The proposed entrance to the drive-through lane will start at the main drive aisle at the north end of the project site, and continue south until it wraps around the building and ends along the east side of the building. The proposed drive-through lane accommodates 11 vehicles. To assess the drive-through operations, the Applicant submitted a queuing analysis prepared by Infrastructure Group, Inc. dated September 23, 2024. The queuing analysis evaluated two comparable sites located at 3000 S. Bristol Street and 1700 East McFadden Avenue in Santa Ana. This analysis concluded that the average queue from these sites was two vehicles, with a maximum queue of nine vehicles observed on only one day of business operations, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, during peak hours between 7:45 a.m. and 8:35 a.m. In the event that the queue exceeds 11 vehicles, Project Specific Condition of Approval No. 3 requires the business operator have an employee positioned before the order board to take orders. 

As part of the drive-through operations, the Applicant also proposes to install an exterior ground mounted menu order board on the west side of the building which will include a noise sensor that moderates the speaker volume based on ambient noise levels. Given the existing noise levels along Imperial Highway (State Route 90) are 70 CNEL and the distance from sensitive uses such as single-unit residential homes is more than 255 feet, across Imperial Highway, it is anticipated that noise impacts from the menu board sign will be negligible. Therefore, staff did not require the Applicant to submit any further noise analysis.  

The project is not subject to the preparation of a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) analysis based on the VMT methodologies formulated by the North Orange County Cities (NOCC) SB 743 Implementation Study. Pursuant to the NOCC VMT Screening and Testing Tool, local service retail uses less than 50,000 square feet are screened out from a VMT analysis and are presumed to have a less than significant impact. The proposed 1,900 square-foot drive-through restaurant screens out of this VMT analysis based on its classification as a local-serving retail use of less than 50,000 square feet of gross floor area.

The Applicant is proposing to update the existing landscaping in order to conform with the City's landscaping requirements to the greatest extent possible as shown above in Exhibit 3 and summarized in Table 2. As a condition of approval (See Standard Condition No. 4.22), the Applicant will be required to submit a final landscape plan prior to the issuance of building permits. Staff will verify that the final landscape plan contains a minimum of two, 24-inch box trees within the parking lot area.

Exhibit 6 shows that the main entrance to the restaurant is proposed along the south elevation facing Imperial Highway. Upon entering the restaurant, about 608 square feet will be used as a customer dining area with seating for up to 22 persons. Two unisex restrooms will also be available for customer use, but will be secured by an electronic keypad lock to prevent any unauthorized use of the restroom. No outdoor tables or seating are proposed. A customer service counter will be added which separates the customer area from the employee-designated area. Six to 10 employees will manage the business operations during each shift.  Approximately 1,292 square feet of the interior space will be used for kitchen production, food preparation, storage, and employee office areas. No food will be cooked onsite. Food preparation will only involve warming and serving of small snack-sized pastry items.  Finally, Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) units are proposed to be ground mounted, outside the building within a screened enclosure at the north end of the building as noted on Sheets A1.0 and A8.1 of the project plans.

Pursuant to LHMC Section 18.06.040.A, a restaurant may be permitted in the PC-I Zone, subject to the approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). In addition, pursuant to LHMC Section 18.23.030 (Sign Matrix), a CUP is required for a menu board. The Planning Commission must make the findings listed below pursuant to LHMC Section 18.66.070.C in order to grant a CUP. Staff has provided justification in support of each of the following findings:

A. The granting of such Conditional Use Permit will not be detrimental to the public welfare and will not unreasonably interfere with the use, possession, and enjoyment of surrounding and adjacent properties and will not impair the character of the zone in which it is to be located.

The proposed CUP to allow a drive-through restaurant with a menu board substantially conforms to PUD Precise Plan 95-02 and the General Plan and Zoning in place at the time the Precise Plan was approved. A restaurant use is conditionally permitted within the subject zone and a menu board is conditionally permitted for all non-residential land uses. The proposed project complies with the intent of all applicable provisions of the Zoning Ordinance. The proposed project was reviewed to ensure sufficient onsite vehicle queuing and circulation. PUD Precise Plan No. 95-02 allowed for the construction of a new commercial drive-through building at 101 W. Imperial Highway. The Applicant is proposing to continue that as a legal non-conforming use. Given that the surrounding uses are the same as at the time of the original approval and the proposed project is not an increase, enlargement or intensification of the prior approval, the surrounding uses will not be adversely impacted by the proposed drive-through restaurant (7 Leaves Cafe) with an outdoor menu board. Additionally, the proposed plans do not increase or enlarge the area, space or volume of the existing nonconforming use; the previous use was not abandoned given that the property owner has been actively attempting to lease the property; and no structural alterations are proposed. Therefore, the granting of such CUP will not be detrimental to the public welfare or unreasonably interfere with the use, possession or enjoyment of surrounding and adjacent properties.  

B. The subject site is physically suitable for the type of land use being proposed.

The proposed drive-through restaurant would be 1,900 square feet in area and located within an existing commercial drive-through building.  The use is conditionally permitted within the subject zone based on the PUD Precise Plan and the zoning and General Plan that were in place at the time the Precise Plan was approved. The menu board is also conditionally permitted in the subject zone.  The design of the vehicle queuing area is such that all traffic can be contained onsite, and ordering will be enhanced through the presence of a menu board. The project area will be improved in compliance with current development standards. Therefore, the site is physically suitable for the type of land use being proposed. 

C. The use is conditionally permitted within the subject zone and complies with the intent of all applicable provisions of this title.

The use is conditionally permitted within the subject zone and complies with the intent of all applicable provisions of the Zoning Ordinance based on conformance with the PUD Precise Plan and the zoning in place at the time the Precise Plan was approved pursuant to La Habra Municipal Code (LHMC) Section 18.36.110 (Precise Plan Approval and Findings). Restaurants are allowed with the approval of a CUP. The project plans associated with the CUP have been reviewed for compliance with all applicable development standards.  In addition, pursuant to LHMC Section 18.23.030 (Sign Matrix), a CUP is required for a menu board. The project plans asscoiated with the CUP have been reviewed for compliance with all applicable development standards. Therefore, the use and the menu board are conditionally permitted in the subject zone and comply with all applicable provisions of the Zoning Ordinance.
 

D. The granting of this Conditional Use Permit is consistent with the comprehensive General Plan.

The commercial use is a legal non-conforming use pursuant to LHMC Section 18.08.070 (Nonconforming Buildings and Uses) and it remains consistent with the General Plan under which the original use was allowed. Specifically, the Applicant is entitled to continue this as a commercial use because there is no increase or enlargement in the area, space or volume occupied by the non-conforming use, the previous use was not abandoned as the owner has actively been trying to lease the property, and no structural alterations are proposed. 

The proposed restaurant is also consistent with the La Habra General Plan 2035. Policy LU 2.2 encourages the development of a broad range of uses in La Habra’s commercial centers and corridors. The intent of the policy is to create vibrant centers of commerce that reduce the need to travel to adjoining communities, thereby capturing a greater share of local spending. Policy LU 3.2 encourages uses that meet daily needs such as grocery stores, local-serving restaurants, and other businesses and activities within walking distance of residences to reduce the frequency and length of vehicle trips. Commercial uses such as these can have a beneficial impact on the environment and quality of life. The proposed drive-through restaurant adds to the variety of restaurant options along Imperial Highway and will be located within walking distance from an existing single-unit neighborhood to the north and south and 117-unit townhome development to the west of the adjacent Advanced Auto Parts Store/Service Center and the neighborhoods to the south of Imperial Highway. Therefore, the granting of the CUP to operate a drive-through restaurant with an outdoor menu board is consistent with the General Plan.

The Applicant has paid for the processing costs associated with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Review and Conditional Use Permit, which total $6,975.00.

The Applicant’s proposal has been reviewed pursuant to the requirements of the City’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Municipal Permit, the Local Implementation Plan (LIP), and the Model Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP), Section 7.2. Since the proposed project will not constitute the disturbance of more than 1,000 square feet of soil, a WQMP is not required.

The proposed project is related to the following General Plan policies:

The proposed project is related to the following City Council Goal and Objectives: