Staff Report: PZ 21-019. Application: Special Use. Applicant: The Candela Bar (Nicole Littlejohn).
Petition: To consider the Special Use Application to allow a Special Event Facility at MXU zoned location.
Purpose of Request: To allow the operation of a Special Events Facility within an MXU zoned district.
Location: 5780 C.H. James Pkwy, Suites 250 and 260. within land lot 662 of the 19th District, 2nd Section, and Cobb County, Georgia. PIN: 19066200040
Background:
Surrounding Land Use:
The subject site is within the Silverbrooke Commons retail development and is zoned Mixed Use (MXU). Surrounding uses within the retail development consist of a mix of retail, office, and personal service providers. There is a subdivision adjacent to the retail strip development where the subject site is located. The residential subdivision located to the north and the commercial development located to the west is also zoned Mixed Use. The parcel located to the east is currently vacant and zoned MXU. The property located to the south of the site (separated by CH James Pkwy) is located in Cobb County and is zoned
Analysis:
The application should be reviewed against the following standards:
a. Will the proposed special use be consistent with the stated purpose of the zoning district in which it will be located?
Yes, the MXU district is established to provide locations for planned combination of commercial and office uses with residential uses. Because of the proximity of commercial uses to residential uses in the MXU district, care should be taken to ensure there is no negative impact to the adjacent residential properties. Stipulations added to any approval will help mitigate any potential negative impact.
b. Will the establishment of the special use not impede the normal and orderly development of the surrounding property for uses predominate in the area?
No, as the predominant retail, office, and personal services uses that exist in the development operate during regular daytime hours. The proposed use by the Candela Bar would be during the evening hours and on weekends. The use entirely contained within an existing structure and will not impact the pattern of development of the area.
c. Is the location and character of the proposed special use consistent with a desirable pattern of development in general?
The Candela Bar will create a special events facility concept that doesn’t exist currently in Powder Springs. They propose organizing and hosting mix and mingles and other gatherings, as well as renting the space for clients to host gatherings.
d. Is or will the type of street providing access to the use be adequate to serve the proposed special use?
This development is accessed from C.H. James Pkwy via Sterlingbrook Drive. These streets are adequate to serve the proposed use.
e. Is or will access into and out of the property be adequate to provide for traffic and pedestrian safety, the anticipated volume of traffic flow, and access by emergency vehicles?
Yes. The applicant will be required to demonstrate that the use will meet the minimum and maximum parking requirements outlined in Article 6 of the Unified Development Code. No parking outside of approved parking spaces is permitted and traffic flow within the site must be maintained at all times. Fire Marshal approval of the applicant is required before the Certificate of Occupancy can be issued.
f. Are or will public facilities such as schools, water or sewer utilities, and police or fire protection be adequate to serve the proposed use?
Yes. This commercial development is already served by police, fire and utility providers and this proposed use should not stress the capacity of the services providers. There will be no impact to schools - The County School Board replied that they had no comments to add.
g. Are or will refuse, service, parking and loading areas on the property be located or screened to protect other properties in the area from such adverse effects as noise, light, glare, or odor?
Parking: Staff has determined that the development has 185 total parking spaces. Article 6 specifies the minimum parking spaces required by type of use. Per table 6-4 of the UDC Dancehalls, restaurants, bars, or taverns are required to have a minimum parking requirement of 1 space per 125 sf of floor space. The gathering area of The Candela Bar is 2060 sf, resulting in a minimum requirement of 17 parking spaces.
Regarding the sharing of spaces, Section 6-83 of UDC states:
(b) Mixed use developments. Parking spaces may be shared by more than one use if the community development director finds that the total number of spaces will be adequate at the peak hours of the uses they serve. The ratios shown on Table 6-6 may be used in determining the time of day and the day of the week at which the maximum number of spaces will be needed by the uses served by the shared parking facility.
The preliminary analysis indicates that the available parking will be sufficient to support this special use. This is based on the development’s total available spaces, the types of uses, and the operating hours of the uses, and the share ratios for peak time and off-peak users. Specifics on size of units and types of users is required from the landlord to complete parking analysis.
Noise: The business owner communicated that noise dampening panels will be installed in the ceiling of the facility during buildout.
Refuse disposal and loading will utilize facilities already in place for the commercial development and will not adversely affect other properties. Special stipulations for parking usage will be set based on the parking analysis for the commercial development.
h. Will the hours and manner of operation of the special use have no adverse effects on other properties in the area? Sound and Parking are the potential areas for adverse impact. Applicant will add noise dampening panels in the ceilings to help mitigated noise pollution. There may be an adverse impact by amplified sound in the units that share walls with this proposed development.
A parking analysis will confirm if there are enough available spaces to facility the various uses in the development. The Candela Bar proposes that stress to parking availability will be mitigated by the fact that their peak usage hours will be during the off-peak hours for the neighboring uses: offices, retail and personal services. They will operate predominantly during hours that other businesses in the development are generally closed. They propose not utilizing the common and shared spaces for events.
i. Will the height, size or location of the buildings or other structures on the property be compatible with the height, size or location of buildings or other structures on neighboring properties?
There will be no changes to exterior structures for this special use.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends approval of the Special Use Request to allow a Special Events Facility with the following stipulations:
1. Events must be hosted in the interior of the facility. At no time events will be hosted in the common or shared external areas of the development without the issuance of a temporary event permit issued by the City.
2. Hours of operation will be Monday to Thursday 10AM to 11PM. Friday and Saturday 9AM to 12AM. Sunday 9AM to 11PM.
3. Parking use limits will be established based on the parking analysis to be submitted to the City for review using on the shared usage ratios for the various types of uses in the development, as defined in Article 6 of the UDC.
4. Noise dampening panels will be installed in the ceiling of the facility during buildout.
5. This Special Use is limited to The Candela Bar (Nicole Littleton). Any change in ownership will require a new special use application.