Restaurant Space in Aliso Viejo

What to diligence before LOI

1. 01

   Seat count decides the permit. AVMC Table 15.18.020 permits full-service restaurants with 16 or fewer seats by right in CT, CC and CN, but restaurants with 17 or more seats need a conditional use permit in every nonresidential district. Take-out food with ancillary seating is permitted in CT, CC and CN. Table 15.70.030 sends CUPs to the City Council at a public hearing, and a denial bars the same or a similar use on the property for a year (15.70.060). Under Chapter 15.94, any seating at a place that prepares food makes it a restaurant.

2. 02

   Alcohol is a separate use permit. Table 15.18.020 lists on-sale alcohol as an administrative use permit subject to AVMC 15.22.200, while bars, taverns and microbreweries need a CUP. Section 15.22.200.D requires a use permit or amendment for a new ABC license, a change in license type, a premises-to-premises transfer, 500 sq ft or more of added floor area, a new license after the old one was surrendered or unused for 30 days or the prior tenant vacated, and any new live entertainment. The findings weigh police calls in the reporting district, distance to homes, schools and day care, and overconcentration, and the permit expires in one year if ABC has not issued the license. At The Commons, SP-2 Table IV-1 makes 'Alcoholic beverage outlet/bars and brew pubs' a City Council CUP and a public eating establishment a Minor CUP from the Planning Director.

3. 03

   ABC license type. California ABC issues Type 41 (On-Sale Beer and Wine, Eating Place) and Type 47 (On-Sale General, Eating Place) to restaurants. Both require a bona fide eating place with a suitable kitchen and real meal sales, both allow minors, and both require servers and their managers to hold Responsible Beverage Service certification. Pick the type before filing with the City, since a later change of type triggers a new use permit under 15.22.200.D.1.

4. 04

   Patio and parking. Outdoor dining is an accessory use needing an AUP under 15.22.190, capped at 1,000 sq ft unless an exception permit allows up to 40% of the indoor floor area. It cannot pull parking below the restaurant's requirement, amplified live music outdoors needs an exception permit, and doors to the patio must stay closed while indoor amplified music plays. Table 15.38.040 parks full-service restaurants and bars at 1 space per 80 sq ft with outdoor dining counted as floor area, drive-throughs at 1 per 100, and take-out with ancillary seating at 1 per 150, and 15.38.110 adds five bicycle spaces for every restaurant.

5. 05

   Drive-through. A drive-through restaurant needs a CUP in CT, CC and CN and is not allowed in PO, BP-1 or BP-2 (Table 15.18.020). Section 15.38.070.H requires at least seven tandem stacking spaces per window, counting the car being served, kept out of the street and internal circulation, an overhead structure at the window, and screening of speakers, lighting and the window from streets and neighbors. At The Commons, SP-2 makes a drive-thru a City Council CUP.

6. 06

   Kitchen approvals. OC Health Care Agency's Plan Check unit must review plans for every new or remodeled food facility under Health and Safety Code 114380; you apply online, upload plans with a menu and equipment spec sheets, pay after review, and the annual health permit is issued after final inspection. For grease, El Toro Water District serves portions of Aliso Viejo and asks every food service establishment in its area to file its FOG application. Moulton Niguel Water District's rules could not be read, so confirm which district serves the suite and whether the existing interceptor meets its standards before relying on a second-generation kitchen.