Fitness Space in Huntington Beach

What to diligence before LOI

1. 01

   Studio or club: Chapter 204 puts 'fitness studios, and yoga or martial arts studios' under Personal Enrichment Services, and 'health/fitness clubs' under Commercial Recreation and Entertainment (whose 'Limited' subclass covers health and fitness clubs under 2,500 sq ft). Section 211.04 lists Personal Enrichment as L-10 in CO and CG (permitted at 5,000 sq ft or less, Administrative Permit above that) and not allowed in CV, and lists Commercial Recreation and Entertainment as a Planning Commission CUP in CG and CV and not allowed in CO. Describe the class format and floor plan in writing and get Planning's classification before you sign.

2. 02

   Parking for a club: Section 231.04 parks health clubs at 1 space per 200 sq ft, except that area used for group instruction is 1 per 100. A 4,000 sq ft boutique club with a 2,000 sq ft class room needs 30 spaces, against 20 for the same space as retail. Ask the landlord how much of the center's parking is already committed to Orangetheory-style class peaks before you plan 45-minute classes on the hour.

3. 03

   Parking for a studio: Personal Enrichment is parked at 1 space per 35 sq ft of instruction area, or at most 1 per 200 sq ft if students per class do not exceed the spaces assigned to the suite and instruction area is no more than 75% of the floor. Provision L-10 adds that a studio in a retail building parked at 1 per 200 needs no additional parking if it meets those two tests. A 2,000 sq ft yoga studio with 1,500 sq ft of instruction area stays parking-neutral only if classes stay at 10 people or fewer.

4. 04

   Beach and Edinger Corridors Specific Plan: most of Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue follow this plan instead of Chapter 211. Its use chart makes health and exercise clubs a conditional use, permits yoga, dance, martial arts and other fitness studios, and several segments make ground-floor health and exercise clubs conditional (note U5). Confirm whether an Edinger address such as the Club Pilates or Crunch blocks is inside the plan and which segment applies.

5. 05

   Pacific City and the coast: provision J of Section 211.05 requires the entire ground floor of a CV property to be visitor-oriented, with any other use above the ground level and subject to a CUP, and Section 211.08 requires a Coastal Development Permit in the coastal zone unless exempt. A gym on a CV-zoned PCH site should expect an upper floor, a CUP and a coastal permit. Pacific City itself is in District 7 of the Downtown Specific Plan (provision Z), which we did not read, so check that plan's fitness rules before touring there.

6. 06

   Build-out: Section 211.05(Q) requires a Zoning Administrator CUP for additions of 10,000 sq ft or more, additions of half or more of a building's floor area, or additions on sites within 300 feet of a residential zone or use. A mezzanine or expansion for a larger club can trigger that even when the use itself is allowed, so size the space to fit the existing building.