Retail Pad Space in Lake Forest

What to diligence before LOI

1. 01

   Drive-through permit: the Land Use Matrix in Section 9.72.090 lists Drive-Through as a site development permit (S) in the C, I, PA and UA categories and prohibits it in CAN, A1 and OS. Section 9.184.020(D) has the Director of Community Development act on site development permits administratively unless a Planning Commission hearing is judged to serve the public interest better. The chapters we read set no stacking length or order-board setback, so get Planning's queue expectations at (949) 461-3535 before you commit to a site plan.

2. 02

   Late hours: Section 9.04.030 treats any use open to patrons between midnight and 5:00 a.m. as a Late-Night Use, which needs a use permit, processed with a public hearing under Section 9.184.020(C), in every commercial category, and Section 9.72.050 caps business hours in the CN district at 6:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The El Toro Road Jack in the Box lists an around-the-clock drive-thru, Del Taco at 22349 El Toro Road lists 24-hour service, and Raising Cane's Foothill Ranch runs its drive-thru to 1:00 a.m. Thursday to Saturday, so a pad user planning similar hours should budget for the use permit.

3. 03

   Setbacks and trash: Table 9.72.100 requires 20 ft setbacks from streets, alleys and A or R district lines in the CN district, 5 ft from streets and 20 ft from A or R district lines in CC, and no street setback in C1 and C2. Section 9.72.085(A)(5) keeps unroofed trash enclosures at least 40 ft from residential and agricultural districts. In Foothill Ranch, PC 8 Section X requires 10 ft from street property lines, 20 ft from residential and open space planning areas, and fully enclosed trash within 50 ft of residential.

4. 04

   Parking: Section 9.168.070 item 31 parks restaurants with 17 or more indoor seats at a 10-space minimum or 1 per 100 sq ft up to 4,000 sq ft (1 per 80 sq ft above that), plus 1 per 100 sq ft of patio once outdoor seats reach 17; banks are 1 per 200 sq ft. Item 34 lets restaurants and other typical shopping center uses park at 1 per 200 sq ft inside a center of at least 8,000 sq ft with four or more different tenants, so a 3,000 sq ft QSR pad needs 15 spaces inside a qualifying center and 30 on a standalone parcel. Foothill Ranch PC parcels use the PC's own Section XIX instead.

5. 05

   Auto service, fuel and ATM pads: the matrix requires a use permit for Auto Repair, Light (tire, lube, tune-up) and for Car Wash in C and UA, a site development permit for an Automobile Fueling Station in C, I and UA, and a site development permit for a freestanding ATM in C (accessory only in I, PA and UA). Financial Institution is permitted by right in C, I, PA and UA.

6. 06

   Traffic: Caltrans' 2023 AADT counts put I-5 at 216,200 vehicles a day south of the El Toro Road interchange and 268,300 between El Toro Road and Lake Forest Drive, dropping to 245,300 north of Lake Forest Drive, and SR-241's Portola Parkway count point at 42,800. These are freeway mainline volumes, not counts on El Toro Road, Lake Forest Drive or Portola Parkway, so ask the landlord or the City for an arterial count before you rely on drive-by traffic.