BACKGROUND
Location
The project site, the Brea Gaslight Square, is an existing commercial shopping center situated north of Imperial Highway, between Flower Avenue and Orange Avenue. The project site is zoned C-P (P-D), is approximately 82,000 square-feet (1.88 acres), and presently developed with five commercial buildings totaling approximately 26,288 square-feet. The site currently includes an illuminated surface parking lot with 91 parking spaces and landscaping. The shopping center is currently occupied mostly by professional offices, medical uses, and vacant retail tenant spaces.
The project site is surrounded by multi-family (R-3) zoned uses to the north, commercial mixed-used (MU-1) zoned uses to the west, commercial (C-3) zoned uses to the south, and a public facility/school (P-F) zoned use to the east. Downtown Brea is located one block northwest of the project site. Over 20 restaurants are located within a one-third (1/3) mile radius from the project site, three of which have a drive-thru.
The project site is located on Imperial Highway, an east-west highway with three lanes in each direction. Uses found on Imperial Highway are predominantly commercial and consist of retail stores, gas stations, churches, and other restaurants. Vehicular access for the project site would be provided at existing driveways located on Flower Avenue and Orange Avenue.
Entitlement History
On November 22, 1988, the Planning Commission approved Resolution No. 88-56 (Attachment J), which granted a CUP to allow the construction of the existing commercial shopping center, and allow retail and commercial uses to occupy over 25% of the total building area. Resolution No. 88-56 also granted two Variances to allow reduced driveway widths along Orange Avenue and Flower Avenue of 23’ and 34’ wide respectively. A condition prohibiting restaurants at the site was included, thus, any restaurant proposed would require an amendment to this resolution (Condition Q of Attachment J).
On June 5, 2020, the Applicant filed the current request in this application to facilitate a Raising Cane’s restaurant with drive-thru, and associated site improvements, on the subject site.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Site Development
The proposed project would be located on the southeast portion of the site, and would demolish two vacant buildings with a combined total of 9,588 square-feet, and construct a single-story 3,267 square-foot restaurant, 780 square-foot outdoor dining area, and a double drive-thru lane that could accommodate 20 to 22 vehicles. Existing vehicular access to the site would be maintained from Flower Avenue and Orange Avenue. The proposed building would have a contemporary architectural style and be comprised of various materials, including stucco, brick, steel, and metal panels (Attachment H). In addition to business identification signs, the project proposes public art in the form of decorative metal panels attached to the north and south building walls.
Other associated site improvements include modifications to the parking lot that would result in 74 total off-street parking spaces, new signage, and new landscaping (Attachments G, H, and I).
Restaurant Operations
Raising Cane’s is a fast-food restaurant chain with a menu focusing on chicken, typically staffing 10 to 12 employees with five to six work shifts. A drive-thru is proposed at the southeast corner of the project site, and would wrap around the building in a counter-clockwise direction. The drive-thru would provide two side-by-side entry lanes and two order boards, which would allow Raising Cane’s employees to take orders from two vehicles simultaneously. After the order boards, the two lanes would merge into a single lane at the pick-up window. There would be approximately 175’ of vehicle queuing capacity per lane from the drive-thru entrance to the two order boards, for a total of 350’ (175’ x 2), and approximately 90’ from the order boards to the pick-up window. This would provide a total drive-thru queue length of 440’, which can accommodate 20 to 22 vehicles. At the southeast corner, the drive-thru would be furthest away from other onsite buildings, which would prevent impacts from the vehicle queue.
For patrons who choose to dine-in, Cane’s provides indoor and outdoor seating. The walk-in and drive-thru hours proposed would be 9:00 A.M. to 1:00 A.M. Sunday through Thursday, and 9:00 A.M. to 3:30 A.M. Friday and Saturday.
DISCUSSION
CUP: Amendment for Restaurant Use
To allow a restaurant use, the Applicant is requesting to amend Condition Q of Resolution No. 88-56 (Attachment J), which prohibits restaurants at the site. Planning Division staff supports the amendment for the following reasons. 1) Restaurants are permitted by-right uses in all commercial zones of the city, including General Commercial (C-G), Major Shopping Center (C-C), and Neighborhood Commercial (C-N). The Applicant’s request to allow a restaurant at the site is typical of commercial zones throughout the city. 2) There are over 20 restaurants located within a one-third (1/3) mile radius from the project site, three of which have a drive-thru. In addition, the site is located one-block from the City’s Downtown which supports commercial uses, including restaurants. Existing onsite uses are comprised of professional office and medical uses, whose peak operating hours are different from those of a restaurant. Peak operating hours for office uses are typically mid-morning and mid-afternoon on weekdays, while peak operating hours for restaurants are typically during the dinner hour. As proposed, the project would be consistent and compatible with surrounding uses. Therefore, the proposed project is suitable and typical for a commercial shopping center on Imperial Highway.
Amending Resolution No. 88-56 (Attachment J) to allow restaurants at the project site would not result in any adverse impacts to the surrounding area, as further outlined in this report and attached resolution (Attachment A).
CUP: Drive-Thru Restaurant
BMC Section 20.236.020(B) governs land uses in the C-G zone. Restaurants with drive-thru are allowed subject to a CUP within all commercial zones. Therefore, the drive-thru component of the restaurant requires the approval of a CUP.
A traffic and parking study was prepared by Kimley-Horn and Associates (KHA), (Attachment K) which included a queuing analysis for the proposed project. This study was reviewed by the Planning Division and Public Works Department. KHA conducted a queuing analysis to evaluate the adequacy of the proposed drive-thru operations. The analysis compared empirical data collected at three existing Raising Cane’s restaurants (cities of Orange, Laguna Hills, and Riverside) during peak hours of 11:00 A.M. to 2:30 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. to 9:30 P.M. It is important to note that the Raising Cane’s locations used in this analysis only have a single-lane drive-thru. KHA also analyzed the queuing capacity of the proposed project using formulas published in the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Handbook 3rd Edition.
The maximum queue observed at the studied locations during A.M. and P.M. peak hours were 15 and 17 vehicles respectively. In addition, the queuing analysis found that the typical service time in the drive-thru is two-and-a-half minutes from the order board to the pick-up window, with a vehicle being processed from the order board to pick-up window every 35 to 40 seconds during peak times. The proposed side-by-side ordering lanes would increase the number of customers served at once, and would have a queuing capacity of 20 to 22 vehicles which could adequately support the anticipated vehicle demand as observed.
Planning Division staff is recommending a condition to Draft Resolution CUP 20-10 requiring a Parking Management Plan (PMP) (Condition E of Attachment B). Among other requirements, the PMP would require Raising Cane’s employees to direct vehicles, take orders ahead of the menu boards, and ensure no conflicts between cars parking and queuing for the drive-thru. As proposed and conditioned, the drive-thru operations would not result in any adverse impacts to surrounded uses.
Parking
The BMC Section 20.08.040(D) outlines the minimum number of parking spaces required for each land use. The site improvements would provide a total of 74 off-street parking spaces to be shared among all onsite uses. When considering all existing onsite uses with the proposed restaurant, the BMC requires a total of 88 off-street parking spaces. However, uses with non-concurrent peak operating times can share all or a portion of the same parking supply if determined to be non-detrimental to other uses. The traffic and parking study prepared by KHA provides a shared parking analysis to determine if the 74 parking spaces would be sufficient for the proposed use, considering the parking peak times for the office, medical, and restaurant uses in the shopping center.
Due to the current events of COVID-19, the theoretical parking demand at the project site was evaluated using aerial imagery from July 2018 to January 2020 which established typical use of parking spaces at the site during non-COVID-19 times. Based on this evaluation in the traffic and parking study, the highest observed peak parking utilization for the existing parking lot was approximately 49%, with an average of 45 parking spaces of the existing 91 parking spaces being utilized.
The parking requirement, as described in BMC Section 20.08.040(D), for the onsite uses that would remain (without the proposed restaurant) is 44 off-street parking spaces. However, based on the observed 49% utilization rate, the KHA traffic and parking study determined that the actual parking demand for these uses is 22 parking spaces. KHA also applied the BMC parking requirement for the proposed restaurant as a worst-case scenario, which requires 44 off-street parking spaces. This results in a total peak parking demand of 66 parking spaces for the proposed project.
BMC Section 20.08.040(D) allows a stacking credit for drive-thru lanes of one car for every 23 lineal feet of stacking lanes. The customers of Raising Cane’s predominantly utilize the drive-thru for service. Planning Division staff has applied this credit to the proposed project, adding 19 additional theoretical parking spaces, increasing the number of off-street parking spaces to a total of 93. Table 1 below provides a summary of this parking analysis.
Table 1: BMC Development Standards
| Use |
Code Required Parking |
Observed Utilization Rate |
Parking Provided |
| Proposed Drive-Thru Restaurant |
44 |
44 (no credit) |
35 + 19 (stacking) = 54 |
| All Other Uses (Office & Medical) |
44 |
44 x .49 = 22 |
39 |
| Total |
88 |
66 |
74 + 19 = 93 |
| 93 spaces provided - 66 spaces required = 27 |
Based on the actual observed utilization rate of the existing parking, and taking into account the drive-thru stacking credit, the proposed project results in a parking surplus of 27 off-street parking spaces. The proposed project is in compliance with the BMC Section 20.08.040(D) as it relates to parking.
Traffic and Circulation
Vehicular access for the project site would be provided at existing driveways located on Flower Avenue and Orange Avenue. Vehicles exiting the project site may exit on Orange Avenue or Flower Avenue and proceed north or south onto Imperial Highway or Birch Street.
The KHA traffic and parking study evaluated the project related traffic effects associated with the proposed project. This study evaluated the project during the evening peak hour under “existing conditions” and “existing conditions with the proposed project”. The study focused on determining whether a signalized intersection is warranted based on the effects of the proposed project at Imperial Highway / Orange Avenue, Imperial Highway / Flower Avenue, Birch Street / Orange Avenue intersections. Intersection analysis for all signalized intersections was conducted using the Intersection Capacity Utilization (ICU) methodology, which is the method utilized by the Orange County Congestion Management Program (CMP). Intersection analysis for unsignalized intersections was conducted using the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) methodology, which returns a delay value, expressed in terms of the average seconds of delay per vehicle. Operating conditions for both ICU and HCM methodologies are expressed in terms of Level of Service (LOS), that ranges from LOS A, representing uncongested, free-flowing conditions; to LOS F, representing congested, over-capacity conditions. If a project causes traffic operations at an intersection to worsen, the project would have a significant effect on that intersection and satisfy a signal warrant.
KHA found the studied intersections currently operate at an unacceptable level of service (LOS) as follows:
- Imperial Highway at Orange Avenue: LOS E
- Imperial Highway at Flower Avenue: LOS F
- Birch Street at Orange Avenue: LOS F
With the proposed project, these intersections would operate at the following LOS levels:
- Imperial Highway at Orange Avenue: LOS F
- Imperial Highway at Flower Avenue: LOS F
- Birch Street at Orange Avenue: LOS F
Since conditions at the intersection of Imperial / Orange would shift from E to F, the results of the traffic study indicate that the current unsignalized intersection satisfies a signal warrant. As a result, staff is recommending a condition of approval that requires the Applicant to pay a fair share contribution amount based on the alternative improvements required to improve the intersection LOS to pre-development conditions (Condition V of Attachment B).
Staff is also recommending a condition that requires the Applicant to prepare public improvement plans for a raised median at the southbound approach to the intersection of Imperial Highway and Flower Avenue with signage and the re-striping to create a right-turn only movement (Condition T of Attachment B). Until this improvement is complete, the Applicant shall prepare plans for temporary closure of the southbound left-turn lane at the intersection of Imperial Highway and Flower Avenue to create a right-turn only movement (Condition R of Attachment R).
Therefore, the project as proposed and conditioned would not result in any traffic related adverse impacts on surrounding uses.
Zoning Analysis
To allow the proposed physical improvements, the Applicant is requesting to modify the site plan approved under Resolution No. 88-56. The project would demolish two existing commercial buildings with a combined total of 9,588 square-feet, and replace them with a single 3,267 square-foot building. Therefore, the project would reduce the total onsite building area by 6,321 square-feet.
Development in the C-P zone is governed by the Brea Municipal Code (BMC) Section 20.224.040. Accordingly, the proposed project complies with applicable development standards for commercial shopping centers, including: building height, setbacks, floor area ratio (FAR), and landscape.
Table 2: BMC Development Standards
| |
Required |
Proposed |
| Building Height |
Maximum: 30’ |
19’-10” |
| Setbacks |
Imperial Hwy: 15’
Orange Ave: 15’ |
Imperial Hwy: 33’
Orange Ave: 33’ |
| Floor Area Ratio (FAR) |
Maximum: 50% of lot area |
24% (approximately) |
| Landscape Buffer |
Imperial Hwy: 8’
Orange Ave: 8’ |
Imperial Hwy: 8’
Orange Ave: 8’ |
In addition to complying with all applicable development standards for the C-P zone, the proposed project would enhance the overall aesthetics of the center.
Sign Program
The proposed sign program consists of business identification signs, public visible art in the form of decorative metal panels, a monument sign, and way finding signs. The existing approved sign program that governs the type, location, size, and number of signs allowed for uses at the project site did not contemplate a restaurant. To add signage needed for a restaurant with a drive-thru, the Applicant is requesting a CUP to amend the current sign program.
Pursuant to BMC Section 20.28.340(C.4), sign programs as subject to Planning Commission approval of a CUP. Sign programs are required to describe the proposed type, number, size, location, design, colors and materials for each sign. In addition, sign programs shall enhance the overall aesthetics of a site and allow for a combination of various types of sings. The proposed sign program is consistent with the sign development standards of BMC Section 20.28.340(C.4). Therefore, Planning Division staff is in support of the Applicant’s request for a CUP to approve the submitted sign program.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS
This project was noticed in accordance with the City’s public noticing requirements, which involved mailed notices and publication in the local paper. The public hearing notice for this project is provided as Attachment M. As of the writing of this report, staff has received five public correspondences (Attachment N).
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