Retail Pad Space in Yorba Linda

What to diligence before LOI

1. 01

   Permits (Table 18.12-1, Section 18.12.050): 'Drive-through facilities' and 'Restaurant' each need a CUP in C-O, C-N and C-G, while a bank is permitted by right in all three. Chapter 18.04 treats a food use with less than 25 percent of its floor area in seating as 'retail food' (permitted in C-N and C-G), so a mostly take-out QSR may only need the drive-through CUP. File any CUPs together so there is one Planning Commission hearing (Section 18.36.230); the Commission may condition ingress, egress, circulation and hours (18.36.240.D).

2. 02

   Lot and setback standards (Table 18.12-2): 25-foot front setback; street side setback of 25 feet on arterials and 15 feet on collectors (footnote 2); maximum lot coverage 35 percent in C-N and 50 percent in C-G; 35-foot height limit. C-G lists a 5-acre minimum lot, but footnote 1 lets any legal lot of at least 4,000 sq ft with 20-foot vehicular access be used, and a shopping center lot can span several parcels. Front and street side yards along arterials need 25 and 15 feet of landscaping (Section 18.12.080.A.1), which eats into stacking room on shallow pads.

3. 03

   Residential edges: where a commercial lot abuts a residential zone, Section 18.12.070.A requires a 50-foot building setback and Section 18.12.080.B.1 a six-foot masonry wall with 15 feet of screen landscaping; parking across the street from homes needs a three-foot wall or berm (18.12.080.B.2). Building-mounted lights must be hooded or aimed down (18.12.080.E) and noise must meet Municipal Code Chapter 8.32 (18.12.080.C). In-N-Out's 1:00 a.m. close shows the kind of hours the Commission may look at under 18.36.240.D.7.

4. 04

   Parking (Table 18.22-1): a restaurant needs 1 space per 100 sq ft with a 10-space minimum, retail food 1 per 200 sq ft, and a bank 1 per 200 sq ft, so a 3,000 sq ft sit-down QSR on its own lot needs 30 spaces. Inside a shopping center of more than 25,000 sq ft, mixed uses park at 5 per 1,000 sq ft (Section 18.22.030.A.5). A patio needs its own Planning Commission CUP (Section 18.12.070.C).

5. 05

   Savi Ranch zoning: the city's PD-17 map shows Savi Ranch as a planned development with Industrial Research and Development, Office Commercial, Support Commercial and Commercial Retail sub-areas. The Old Canal Road pads sit in Savi Ranch, so confirm which sub-area and which use list govern your parcel before assuming Table 18.12-1 applies; the Town Center corner may fall under the Yorba Linda Town Center Specific Plan instead.

6. 06

   Ground-up costs: the city's CUP instructions (last modified July 24, 2023) list a $4,293 initial deposit for a commercial CUP at $295 an hour and require a Priority Project Water Quality Management Plan for restaurants where the development's land area, including parking, is 5,000 sq ft or more. Add OC Health Care Agency kitchen plan check and a Yorba Linda Water District FOG permit ($270 initial, $270 a year). A CUP lapses one year after approval unless construction starts (Section 18.36.255).