This project was reviewed pursuant to the guidelines of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and determined to be Categorically Exempt pursuant to Section 15304, Class 4: "Minor Alterations to Land" subsection (e) Minor temporary use of land having negligible or no permanent effects on the environment. This section applies to carnivals, sales of Christmas trees, etc.

A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LA HABRA APPROVING SPECIAL EVENT PERMIT 22-02 TO CONDUCT A LARGE SPECIAL EVENT AT 1610 WEST IMPERIAL HIGHWAY, AS PER THE APPROVED PLANS AND SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS.

The Applicant, Kohl's Inc., in conjunction with Amazon Fresh is proposing to hold a large special event (the "proposed project" or "event") involving a promotional event that includes festival themed activities on the Amazon Fresh and Kohl's property. The property is located at the southeast corner of Imperial Highway and La Habra Hills Drive. The General Plan Land Use designation for the subject property is Community Shopping Center 2, and it is within the Community Shopping Center High Density (C-2sH) Zone, the implementing zone for this General Plan land use designation.

The promotional event will include music, food and beverage sampling, demonstrations, and sweepstakes aimed to drawn new customers, and to create a positive brand awareness in the community. The Amazon Fresh Food Fest event is expected to draw between 600-1000 persons over the course of an eight-hour day. Event setup will begin on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, and clean up and removal will be completed by Monday, March 28, 2022. The actual event will begin on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, through Sunday, March 27, 2022, for 12 consecutive days. Event activities during the weekdays and weekend will begin at 11:00 a.m. and end at 8:00 p.m. Overnight security will be provided from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m daily to secure the event area.

The event will be setup along the front sidewalk of the Amazon Fresh store. The event will involve the use of a 20-foot by 10-foot wooden booth structure placed on the sidewalk near the Amazon Fresh store entrance; a small generator will be utilized to provide power to the proposed structure. Also proposed along the sidewalk, is a mobile sampling station, a mini sampling station, children's activity area, carnival game area (ring toss and sand bag toss), and a silkscreen station. The proposed location of the booth and the activities will not preclude Amazon Fresh from providing a clear path of travel, which will be over three feet wide, from the front of the structure to the curb face, for pedestrian and ADA access.

As noted above, the event will include amplified music, cooking demonstrations, screen printings, movie screenings, and food and beverage tasting. Food and beverage sampling will take place both inside and outside the Amazon Fresh grocery store; however, wine sampling will only be permitted within the store.  The event also includes the use of temporary pennant flags and banners onsite to advertise the event. The event will include a security guard and 10 supporting staff members dedicated to line control during peak hours (between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.). 

The project is before the Planning Commission pursuant to the Special Event Policy Guidelines. Events held on private property which consist of more than four consecutive days are considered Large Special Events. Large Special Event guidelines call for consideration by the Planning Commission and notification to property owners within 300 feet. Unfortunately, the events' property owner authorization (out of state) was not submitted in time for staff to send out public notices. Guidelines are not codified regulations and as such give staff some leeway in applying them. In this case staff determined that we could move forward without the notices due to the location and nature of the event. Additionally, the purpose of the notice is to inform any residential uses in proximity to the event location. In this case the Amazon Fresh event area is located within a commercial area surrounded by other commercial uses, an Edison substation and a golf course, with the nearest residential neighborhood located approximately 400 feet to the east. The residences would not have received notices because notices are only sent to properties within 300 feet of the subject property. There is no direct vehicle or pedestrian access from the residential neighborhood to the event area, thus it is not expected that the event will pose any significant impacts to the residential neighborhood.

The parking lot located north of the Kohl's and Amazon Fresh building is improved with 460 parking spaces, not including the parking spaces found around the Chili's restaurant. There is sufficient onsite parking to support the special event and the operation of both businesses. The Kohl's store hours are Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Amazon Fresh store hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. seven days a week. As indicated event hours during the weekday and weekend will begin at 11:00 a.m. and end at 8:00 p.m.

This is the first special event permit requested by Amazon Fresh. Conditions of approval utilized for other large special event permits will be utilized for the Amazon Fresh event.

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 no disturbance of soil will occur, this project is exempt from the preparation of a WQMP.

The General Plan designates the land use of the property as Community Shopping Center 2, which is characterized by a variety of commercial uses serving the large citywide area as well as the immediate surrounding communities. The proposed Large Special Event will draw patrons to the area to help the business grow.

The project implements Policy OS 3.5 Community Special Events of the General Plan 2035