Retail Pad Space in Costa Mesa

What to diligence before LOI

1. 01

   Permit path: Table 13-47(a) makes any food or beverage drive-through a minor conditional use permit in C1, C2 and CL (and in C1-S, TC and PD unless the approved master plan provides for it), decided by the Zoning Administrator under Section 13-29. An existing restaurant that adds or expands a drive-through becomes subject to the whole article under Section 13-51(b)(1)(d), so a conversion of an existing pad is not a by-right change.

2. 02

   Lane geometry: Section 13-50 requires each lane to be at least 11 feet wide and 160 feet long from its entrance to the pick-up window (unless the Zoning Administrator modifies it), lane entrances set back 25 feet from street or alley driveways, stacking kept 10 feet from outdoor seating and play areas, no blocking of parking back-out or walkways, and an operation statement on reducing idling emissions. Sketch the 160-foot queue on the site plan before the LOI.

3. 03

   Near homes: Section 13-49 applies to any food or beverage establishment within 200 feet of residentially zoned property, measured property line to property line: shielded lighting, no audible outdoor speakers, screened trash, a 5-foot landscaped planter and a 6-foot (up to 8-foot) masonry wall on new construction, no customer service from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., and no truck deliveries from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. That rules out a 24-hour drive-thru on many Harbor and Newport Boulevard parcels that back onto neighborhoods.

4. 04

   Parking: Table 13-89 parks a restaurant with more than 300 sq ft of public area at 10 spaces per 1,000 sq ft for the first 3,000 sq ft and 12 per 1,000 above that, and banks at 5 per 1,000 (minimum 6). In shopping centers of 600,000 sq ft or more, a food or beverage use in a freestanding structure is parked at 10 per 1,000 sq ft of GLA. Patio seating is excluded from the floor area.

5. 05

   Auto and fuel pads: Table 13-30 lists motor vehicle service stations (row 104) as a conditional use permit in C1, C2, C1-S and PDC and prohibited in TC, AP and CL, and car washes (row 62) as a conditional use permit in C1, C2, C1-S, TC and PDC. Those go to the Planning Commission under Section 13-29. Banks (row 52) are permitted in every commercial zone, but we found no separate drive-up standard for banks in Chapters IV or V, so ask Planning how a bank drive-up lane is reviewed.

6. 06

   Traffic: Caltrans' 2024 annual average daily traffic is 91,400 vehicles on Route 55 at East 17th Street, at Harbor Boulevard and at 19th Street, and 84,500 south of Victoria/22nd Streets rising to 133,800 north of it. Route 73 carries 77,200 at Bear Street. These are state highway counts, not counts on Harbor Boulevard or Bristol Street, so ask the City's traffic division for arterial counts at a specific pad.