Grocery-Anchored Retail Space in Aliso Viejo

What to diligence before LOI

1. 01

   Zoning for a supermarket: AVMC Table 15.18.020 treats supermarkets as 'Retail stores, general'. They are permitted by right in the CT (Town Center Commercial), CC and CN districts up to 80,000 sq ft. Over 80,000 sq ft they need a conditional use permit in CT and CC and are not allowed in CN. Under Table 15.70.030, a CUP in Aliso Viejo goes to the City Council at a public hearing (there is no planning commission step), and most new development also needs a site development permit (AVMC 15.18.020.A).

2. 02

   The Commons is not governed by the base zoning table. The official zoning map shows it as SP-2, The Commons Specific Plan, and AVMC 15.26.020.B says permitted uses in a specific plan district come from the plan itself. Table IV-1 of the plan lists 'Food, beverage, groceries' and general retail as permitted in SP2-CTC, but a bakery or coffee house needs a Minor CUP from the Planning Director. The copy on the city site is a 2009 scan, so ask Planning whether later amendments (such as the 99 Ranch re-tenanting) changed the table.

3. 03

   Parking under AVMC 15.38.040: general retail under 80,000 sq ft needs 1 space per 250 sq ft of gross floor area, retail over 80,000 sq ft and shopping centers need 1 per 220, and 15.38.110 adds five bicycle spaces at the entry of each major tenant over 20,000 sq ft. The Commons reports 1,319 spaces on 183,722 SF of GLA (about 7.2 per 1,000). Reductions of 15% or less need an exception permit under 15.38.120.B.

4. 04

   Big box backfill has precedent here: The Commons Specific Plan records that the closed Super Kmart was split into a Lowe's and two other tenants in 2004 (Site Development Permit SPAV03-18), and ValueRock later put 99 Ranch into 45,000 SF of the former Lowe's. If you are backfilling a large box on Aliso Creek Road, ask for the recorded CC&Rs and any grocery exclusives held by Trader Joe's, 99 Ranch or Ralphs before you write an LOI.

5. 05

   La Paz Road pocket: the 2014 zoning map shows a CC (Community Commercial) district at La Paz Road and SR-73, which is where the Stater Bros and Target addresses sit. CC allows supermarkets like CT does. Confirm the parcel's current district, since the map is dated February 2014 and the code has since added a mixed use/residential overlay (AVMC 15.26.060).

6. 06

   Start with the city's Zoning Compliance Application (PS-240). The Planning Services page says Planning approval is now required before plans go to Building, and PS-240 needs the property owner's signature or letter of authorization plus sign-off from any applicable residential management association.