The Planning Commission approved a modification to the conditional use permit (CUP) for the restaurant Muchas Gracias, located at 7039 Greenleaf Avenue, with amended conditions and a staff check-in at six months.

Senior planner Monica Rivera told commissioners the application, continued from the June 2 meeting, requested interior floor-plan adjustments, sale of alcoholic beverages under a Type 47 ABC license, live entertainment and extended hours of operation. Rivera said the applicant is Jesse Carrillo; the owner is listed as The Enterprises LLC and the operator as MG Hotel Group LLC. The zoning is Uptown Specific Plan.

Rivera said the applicant submitted a noise assessment by a certified acoustical engineer. The report concluded no mitigation measures were required, but staff recommended additional conditions because the city had previously received noise complaints about the property. Conditions include keeping doors and windows closed during live entertainment (except for ingress/egress), limiting live entertainment to a 60-square-foot area, requiring weather-stripping on doors and windows, and a requirement that live entertainment cease one hour before closing. Staff also noted the project was found categorically exempt from CEQA as an existing facility.

Applicant Jesse Carrillo (architect) told the commission the interior layout was modified to add seating but did not increase occupant load from earlier submittals. Carrillo said the rear parking area is currently inaccessible because landscaping remains in place but that space will be cleared as part of permitting to allow staff parking and to remove an unauthorized outdoor entertainment area that previously generated noise complaints. Carrillo said the acoustical analysis used worst-case simulations and that the intention is to operate as a restaurant rather than a nightclub: “The idea is not that we're turning this place into a nightclub. ... The idea is that they are able to provide music, within the restaurant.”

Commissioners asked how the city would verify compliance if neighbors complained. Staff said the city has no dedicated noise-monitoring instrument and would rely on code enforcement to respond to complaints; staff also recommended a one-year administrative check-in is customary, but commissioners requested staff report back in six months to confirm compliance. The commission added a condition to require the applicant to secure building-permit and health-department approvals before opening.

Commissioner Borsey moved to approve the CUP modification with the added six-month staff review; the motion was seconded and passed in a roll-call vote with Commissioner Borsey, Commissioner Connolly and Chair Luis Rodriguez voting yes. The resolution identifying the commission’s approval notes that the decision may be appealed to the city council within 30 calendar days.

Also at the meeting staff said item 6a (a different restaurant application to amend a floor plan and extend hours) was withdrawn at the operator’s request and will be re-noticed and re-circulated at a later date.