AgdaPkt 2000-10-16 - Laserfiche WebLink

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.� REPORT To the Honorable Mayor and City Councii From the City Manager October 16, 2000 Subject Appeal of Conditions of Approval for Use Permits for 2400 Broadway granted by the . Zoning Administrator (Attachment #1). Recommendation Uphold the Use Permits and Conditions of Approval for Stewart Title and the Washington Mutual Home Loan Center. Summary Stewart Title and the Washington Mutual Home Loan Center moved into the ground floor of 2400 Broadway in January 2000 without Use Permits. The property is within the Central Business Retail ("CBR") Zoning District. According to the regulations of the CBR district, loan centers and title companies, which are office orientated uses, are not considered compatible land uses to retail-only-on-the-ground-floor uses such as restaurants, barbershops, and typical retail stores, which are permitted outright in the CBR district. Use Permits are required for non-retail uses in the CBR Zoning District. Building Permits had been issued without benefit of Zoning approval. In August 2000 the Zoning Administrator granted Use Permits for Stewart Title and the Washington Mutual Home Loan Center. The Conditions of Approval limited the Use Permits to the initial terms of the tenant leases and included additional standard conditions regarding parking and landscaping (See Attachment #2). The Use Permit conditions were designed to protect the long-term retail vitality of the downtown. The applicant is appealing all of the conditions of the Use Permits. Background ' History and Intent of the Central8usiness District (CBR): The City Council established the CBR Zoning District in 1991 to protect the retail vitality of the downtown. The regulations anticipated phasing out financial institutions on the first floor of the City's retail core. A map of the CBR district is included in Attachment #3. The Council established the CBR district in a long-range effort to encourage appropriate redevelopment of the downtown as a vital restaurant and retail destination with an enhanced pedestrian environment. The Zoning Ordinance text states that the purpose of the district is to "strengthen the retail vitality and economic base of the downtown area, and to concentrate retail uses downtown which will serve the needs of Redwood City residents, businesses, and workers. To further support the policy intention in the Zoning Ordinance, the City has also invested significant resources to improve the pedestrian streetscape in the CBR with decorative sidewalk pavers, decorative tighting, underground utilities, street furniture, enhanced hardscaping, and landscaping with mature street trees. Offices and financial institutions require a Use Permit in the CBR Zoning District. To qualify for a Use Permit to establish such a use, the Zoning Administrator must make findings that . , . . _,.. _.... . . . ._. . _. ... . .,.._-�-.....�. ._. ...._. . . .