Planning commission approves The Hive restaurant expansion with extended hours, live entertainment and large interior video walls

The Whittier City Planning Commission on June 16 approved a conditional use permit (CUP24-0010) and development review (DRP24-0105) to let The Hive merge two adjacent tenant spaces at 6749–6757 Greenleaf Avenue in Uptown Whittier, add on-sale general alcohol service under a new Type 47 ABC license, host limited live entertainment and operate with extended hours.

Staff presentation said the project is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under section 15301 (existing facilities) and recommended approval with conditions. Alex Murillo, assistant planner, told the commission the operator (Hyatt Property Group as owner; applicant represented by Luis Niebla) is proposing interior tenant improvements to about 8,100 square feet of a roughly 15,200-square-foot commercial building, including a dining area, kitchen and a large, multi-wall HDTV/video system that would reduce visibility into the storefronts from the public right-of-way.

Why it matters: the proposal would change the character of a prominent Uptown corner while adding a late-night restaurant that staff said will reduce the total number of on-site ABC licenses in Census Tract 5015.04 (staff cited ABC concentration guidance saying three on-site licenses are allowed while 59 currently exist). Commissioners weighed public-safety and historic-character concerns tied to the planned interior video walls, and also pressed staff about how the city monitors conditional use permits for alcohol service.

The proposal and conditions - The applicant proposes a merged restaurant with roughly 2,630 sq ft of dining (about 84 fixed seats…