Retail Pad Space in Aliso Viejo

What to diligence before LOI

1. 01

   Drive-through permit: Table 15.18.020 requires a conditional use permit for 'Restaurants, drive-through' in CT, CC and CN and does not allow them in PO, BP-1 or BP-2. Table 15.70.030 sends CUPs to the City Council at a public hearing, and 15.70.060 bars refiling the same or a similar use on the property for one year after a denial. A new pad building also needs a site development permit under 15.74.020, with a lighting plan and photometric study reviewed by the Planning Director and police services before building permit.

2. 02

   Drive-through design in 15.38.070.H applies to drive-through restaurants and other drive-through facilities except car washes: at least seven tandem stacking spaces per window or machine, counting the car being served, kept out of the public right-of-way and internal circulation; an overhead structure at the window; and speakers, lighting and windows screened from streets and neighbors. Section 15.38.070.E.7 also keeps new driveways at least 300 feet from the intersection of two public streets unless Public Works approves less.

3. 03

   Parking ratios in Table 15.38.040: drive-through restaurants 1 space per 100 sq ft of gross floor area, full-service restaurants 1 per 80, banks with tellers 1 per 220, auto repair 1 per 400, and gas stations 4 spaces plus the spaces for any fast food or convenience store. Section 15.38.110 adds five bicycle spaces for banks and restaurants. A reduction of 15% or less takes an exception permit (15.38.120.B); more takes a CUP.

4. 04

   Other pad uses in Table 15.18.020: banks with tellers, including drive-up windows, are permitted by right in all six nonresidential districts; minor auto repair as a principal use needs a CUP in CT, CC and CN; gas and charging stations need a CUP everywhere and must meet 15.22.210. Confirm the district for your parcel on the zoning map before assuming a use is allowed.

5. 05

   Pads inside The Commons follow SP-2, The Commons Specific Plan. Table IV-1 makes a drive thru a City Council CUP, limited to the Commercial Planning Development Area, with vehicles in the lane screened from the public right-of-way; financial institutions are permitted; car washes and tire, lube and oil change uses are prohibited. The plan was written around two drive-thrus (the fast food building at the Aliso Creek Road entry and a pharmacy with a double drive-thru), and the city's copy is a 2009 scan, so ask whether it has been amended.

6. 06

   Speaker noise: AVMC 8.12.050 sets 65 dB(A) from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and 60 dB(A) overnight for commercial property, 50 and 45 dB(A) for homes under 10 units per acre, subtracts 5 dB(A) for speech or music, and uses the average of the two standards where noise reaches both. Place the order board and lane away from any adjacent residential edge.