Medical Retail Space in Santa Ana

What to diligence before LOI

1. 01

   Use: Santa Ana Municipal Code Section 41-365 permits medical offices (item t) and hospitals, clinics and sanitariums (item h) by right in the C1 district, and Sections 41-377(a) and 41-412 carry those uses into C2 and the C4 Planned Shopping Center district. C2 also permits research institutions and laboratories (Section 41-377(j)). Confirm the parcel is actually zoned C1, C2 or C4, since specific plans have their own lists.

2. 02

   Parking: Section 41-1346 parks medical, dental, psychiatric and chiropractic offices and clinics at 5 spaces per 1,000 sq ft of gross floor area, the same as general retail and service under Section 41-1340 and higher than business and professional offices at 3 per 1,000 (Section 41-1342). A retail-to-clinic conversion should not add required stalls on its own, but moving a clinic into a former office building can.

3. 03

   Small suites: under Section 41-1309.1(2), a tenant space under 2,500 sq ft can switch from retail, service, restaurant or office use to medical office without providing more parking, provided the prior use had a valid business license and certificate of occupancy. Ask the landlord for the prior tenant's certificate of occupancy early.

4. 04

   Ancillary massage: the massage article (Section 41-1751(h)) treats massage in a medical office as an ancillary massage establishment when it uses no more than 25% of the floor area, and Section 41-1753(a) still requires a certificate of occupancy, a business license and a police-issued massage establishment permit. Physical therapy or chiropractic tenants that offer massage should plan for that permit.

5. 05

   X-ray and imaging: 17 CCR 30108 requires every person possessing a reportable source of radiation to register with the state. Dental, chiropractic and urgent care tenants with X-ray should confirm registration, shielding design and who pays for lead-lined walls in the work letter.

6. 06

   Building items to price before signing: ask your architect how the building official will classify the clinic's occupancy, how many restrooms the plan needs, what path-of-travel upgrades an alteration will trigger at the entrance, parking and restrooms, and whether the shell has enough sewer and water capacity for sinks in each exam or operatory room. We did not read the California Building Code sections that govern these points.