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Board approves zone change and largely approves design waivers for former restaurant site on Charleston Boulevard
Summary
The Sunrise Manor advisory board unanimously approved a zone change to unify zoning on a commercial parcel on Charleston Boulevard and approved most of the requested waivers of development standards, while declining the waiver for driveway throat depth.
The Sunrise Manor Town Advisory Board on March 27 unanimously approved a zone change to unify zoning on an existing commercial parcel on Charleston Boulevard and approved most waiver requests for design modifications; one waiver related to driveway throat depth was denied per staff/public-works concerns.
Denizio Gordillo, representing Ochea Group LLC and the applicant for the Lava Kitchen redevelopment, told the board the site historically operated as a restaurant and that the northern and southern halves of the parcel were zoned differently. “All we are doing is revitalizing and reinvesting in the site,” Gordillo said. The applicant asked to reclassify the southern half from CP (commercial professional) to CG (commercial general) so the entire parcel would be subject to the same development standards.
The board unanimously approved the zone change (item ZC-250180). On the related waiver request (WS-250181), which sought reduced street landscaping and alternative driveway geometry to accommodate the existing constrained parcel, the board voted to follow staff recommendations: approve the waivers except deny the requested throat-depth reduction for the Charleston Boulevard driveway. Gordillo said the existing driveway is a “pan driveway” and that reconstructing it to a full commercial driveway would eliminate parking on the east side of the site and create a substantial parking shortfall; the applicant is continuing to work with Public Works on an alternative that could preserve parking while addressing safety concerns.
Public commenters and board members raised safety and vagrancy concerns along the Charleston corridor; the applicant said the property has on-site security, new lighting and landscaping plans and will work to reduce the site’s attractiveness for illegal encampments.
Why it matters: The actions allow the property owner to move forward with façade, landscaping and operational upgrades for a new Lava Kitchen location while preserving parking and addressing public-works safety standards; the denied throat-depth waiver will require the applicant to negotiate design changes with Public Works or accept a different parking configuration.
