Request for modification of existing pilot program conditions of approval for Suite 200 in Del Mar

Editor’s Note: The following letter was sent to the Del Mar City Council and to this newspaper for publication.

Dear Mr. Sinnott and City Councilpersons:

On Dec. 26, 2012, I mailed the City Council and Mrs. Garcia a letter requesting the City Council conduct a hearing to review suggested changes to Del Mar’s parking ordinance, as well as a hearing on revisions to the conditions of approval of 1201 Camino del Mar’s acceptance into the Pilot Program.

I’ve received Mrs. Garcia’s letter dated January 14, 2013 letter stating:

“Pursuant to City Council resolution 2010, the Pilot Program was adapted as a two-year program on April 19, 2012. As such, the Pilot Program expired on April 19, 2012 and was not extended or reinstated by the City Council. Since the program is no longer in existence, no new applications are being accepted.

Your conditional authorization was granted solely for Suite 200 per City Council Resolution 2011-64 on June 20, 2011. As the Pilot Program has expired, any proposed parking solution for the intensification and/or expansion of use, which includes both Suite 100 and Suite 200, must be satisfied using the allowed methods in the Del Mar Municipal Code Section 30.80.”

In response to Mrs. Garcia’s letter regarding expiration of the Pilot Program, my Dec. 26, 2012 letter also requested a modification of the conditions of approval of Suite 200’s acceptance into the Pilot Program. While the Pilot Program may have closed to acceptance of new applications on April 19, 2012, it certainly hasn’t been terminated for properties already accepted into the Pilot Program, as evidenced by the continued operation of Crepes & Corks.

Please advise me when the City Council will schedule a hearing on this matter. At this hearing I request that the City Council consider misleading information that was provided by the Planning Department, including inaccurate information regarding the number of parking spaces required of Crepes and Corks vs. the number of parking spaces required of Suite 200.

The Planning Department told you that Crepes and Corks needed only one parking space, when in fact they needed 15 spaces to comply with the parking ordinance.

When the owner of Crepes and Corks requested permission to expand the restaurant into the adjacent 762 square foot lease space, then occupied by RE/MAX Real Estate, the Planning Department’s May 17, 2010 letter acknowledges this expansion would require 8.47 parking space. This calculation only accounted for the proposed expansion, and did not address the parking required for the remaining portion of the existing restaurant. According to parking ordinance, a 1,400-square-foot restaurant with a 250-square-foot food-serving patio requires 18 parking spaces. 1328 Camino del Mar has only three parking spaces, yet this expansion was approved with only one space.

The Planning Department has represented that Suite 200 needed 20 parking spaces, when in fact Suite 200 needed only 12 spaces to comply with the parking ordinance.

Eight hundred square feet inside plus 550 square feet outside equals 1,350 square feet parked at one space per 90 square feet equals 15 parking spaces. Since three spaces are provided, Suite 200 was short by 12 parking spaces, and not 20 spaces.

This letter is also written to advise you that I have dismissed without prejudice both the Inverse Condemnation lawsuit and the 1983 Act lawsuit. I have taken this action in order to provide the city a clean slate, so that you may focus on how to provide fair treatment for 1201 Camino del Mar, instead of focusing on the City’s potential liability for past decisions.

George Conkwright

Related posts:

1. Del Mar moves forward with partial downtown revitalization pilot program
2. Pilot program for revitalizing Camino del Mar
3. Del Mar downtown property owner to use alternative means to ease parking
4. Carmel Valley planners recommend approval of management plan for local preserves/trails — with conditions
5. Letters/Opinion: Lawsuit filed against Del Mar

Short URL: http://www.delmartimes.net/?p=44516

Posted by Staff on Jan 17, 2013. Filed under Letters, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.