Planning Commission approves alcohol service for Chargers training facility with amended boundaries

The City of Alsaguenre Planning Commission on July 10 approved an administrative use permit allowing alcohol service at the Chargers’ new private club and restaurant at the Chargers training facility, with an amendment that narrows where alcohol may be served. Staff presented the request for on-site sale of beer, wine and distilled spirits at a private members-only club and an existing restaurant inside the Chargers’ 150,000-square-foot training campus. Staff said the restaurant would operate under an Administrative Use Permit (AUP) required by the South El Segundo Specific Plan and that the applicant will apply for a Type 57ABC license. Proposed hours listed in staff materials are 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; the application also anticipated live entertainment and alcohol service on a third-floor terrace and in conference rooms. The amendment approved by the commission limited alcohol service "to the confines of the building, including terraces and balconies on the second and third floors, and the practice fields," excluding parking areas. Maria Baldenegro, planning staff, described the site and summarized staff’s findings that the AUP conditions would mitigate noise and other impacts and that the required findings for approval could be made. Applicant representative Steve Rawlings told the commission the team "concur[s] with the staff's recommendation and agree[s] to all the conditions of approval as presented to you this evening," and described the club as a private-members venue aimed at corporate and corporate-guest use. Rawlings said the club would be invitation- or membership-only and that the team sought flexibility to host events in multiple areas of the facility. Commissioners discussed whether the facility lobby should be included. Staff and the applicant agreed that the approval should be amended to explicitly allow service within the building and on specified terraces and practice fields; staff said it would memorialize the edited condition in the AUP approval letter. The commission then moved to approve the AUP with the amended condition and voted 5–0. The approval is administrative and conditioned; staff told the commission the applicant must secure an appropriate state ABC license and comply with the conditions in the AUP letter, which will be updated to reflect the amended area for service. The approval does not authorize service in parking lots or other exterior areas not specified in the amended condition. For next steps, staff will update the director’s approval letter and conditions of approval to include the amended language the commission read into the record.