Planning commission approves The Place at Tweedy food hall with conditions on alcohol, hours and noise

The South Gate Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve a conditional use permit and site plan for The Place at Tweedy, a proposed open-air food hall at 3703 Tweedy Boulevard that will include eight vendor spaces, two areas serving alcohol and a small outdoor performance stage.

The project, proposed by owners Sylvester Madrigal Jr. and Andres Lugo and filed under conditional use permit number 25-04 and site plan review PL 25-0312, would convert a 10,051-square-foot lot within the Tweedy Boulevard Specific Plan area into a pedestrian-oriented courtyard with seven ground-floor vendor spaces and one second-floor vendor/terrace. The application requests two vendor spaces that will serve alcohol under an on-site-consumption ABC license (Type 47) and a live entertainment program limited to small-scale performances.

City planning staff said the project meets the Tweedy Boulevard Specific Plan development standards, including a floor-area-ratio of 0.73 (under the 1.5 maximum) and a two-story, 26-foot height (under the 40-foot limit). Staff recommended the commission find the project exempt from environmental review under CEQA Guidelines section 15332 (Class 32, infill development) and approve Resolution No. 2025-10, which would adopt the CUP and site plan review with conditions of approval.

The planning presentation described the proposed uses and operating plan: a coffee shop that would open earlier (about 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.), general hours for the food hall of roughly 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., two dedicated bar areas (one on the second-floor terrace and one at ground level), a children’s play area, and an outdoor courtyard performance space. Staff also said the applicant seeks to limit live performances to no more than four performers at a time, with scheduled outdoor entertainment on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 10 p.m. and speaker systems oriented toward the courtyard to reduce sound transmission to neighboring properties.

Sylvester Madrigal Jr., one of the project owners, said, “We feel this is the catalyst,” describing the proposal as a family-friendly project intended to activate Tweedy Boulevard. Several members of the public — including nearby residents, business owners and supporters — urged approval, saying the food hall could bring foot traffic and support local entrepreneurs. Gustavo Cortez, a local barber, said the project would “bring more traffic, more visibility, more customers” for nearby small businesses.

Staff and commissioners pressed the applicant on how alcohol service and tenant responsibilities will be handled. City staff and the city attorney explained that the CUP conditions will run with the land, that the site will be subject to compliance reviews (the staff report includes a condition requiring an initial compliance review within six months of permit activation), and that ABC (the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control) must still issue any Type 47 licenses. The applicant said they will distribute the approved conditions to future tenants and that their background in restaurant development gives them a ready vendor list.

The commission’s approval includes multiple specific conditions of approval. Key clarifications and conditions spelled out in the staff report and included in the approval were: alcohol service to cease at 10 p.m. (condition 8); a 24-hour video surveillance system with recordings retained for 72 hours and made available to police upon request (condition 9); a required sign program (condition 10) and review of murals/artwork by the community development director or art program (condition 11); limits on alcohol advertising to interior spaces (condition 12); maintenance and trash removal obligations (condition 13); compliance with the Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (condition 14); a requirement to work in good faith to establish a shared parking agreement with neighbors (condition 15, recommended but described as sometimes difficult to achieve); and multiple noise-mitigation measures drawn from a noise study (conditions roughly 21–33 in the staff report), including speaker orientation, volume limits and a rear 10-foot noise barrier adjacent to the playground/lounge area. Staff also noted that the live-entertainment permit itself is subject to city council review, and staff told the commission the council will consider the live-entertainment component at its next meeting.

Commissioners also discussed parking and alley conditions. Staff identified a “park-once” concept within the Tweedy Specific Plan and said there are 144 public parking spaces within 0.15 miles of the site (not counting on-street parking). Public works conditions in the staff packet require alley repairs, pothole filling and other frontage work as necessary; the applicant said they would take responsibility for necessary repairs adjacent to the site but not for repaving the entire alley.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to find the project exempt under CEQA Class 32 and to approve the conditional use permit and site plan review with the conditions in the staff report. The motion passed on a roll call vote with all five commissioners present voting yes (Commissioners Castaneda, Rosaeta, Valenzuela, Vice Chairperson Prieto and Chairperson Ruiz). The approval includes the staff-specified conditions and the compliance-review schedule.

The planning commission approval allows the project to move to required ministerial and licensing steps, including building permits and any required ABC licensing; the commission’s action does not substitute for ABC’s licensing decisions or any future council action on live entertainment.

For reference: the applicant on file is listed as Genesis Clara Martinez; the property owner of record is Ranch 33 Incorporated, represented at the hearing by Andres Lugo and Sylvester Madrigal Jr.