Planning commission approves Hop Secret Brewing expansion, keeps taproom limits

The Monrovia Planning Commission on March 12 approved an amendment to Conditional Use Permit CUP 2016-04 to allow Hop Secret Brewing to expand operations into a portion of the adjacent unit at 164 West Pomona Avenue and modestly adjust operating hours.

The change increases the brewery's total space from about 2,217 square feet to roughly 3,152 square feet and adds about 935 square feet of manufacturing and storage space. Staff told the commission the taproom will remain at 17 seats and 434 square feet, keeping incidental retail use at about 19.7% of total area, below the city's 20% threshold for incidental retail.

Assistant Planner Austin Arnold told commissioners the brewery's proposal would expand mostly manufacturing and storage space while the taproom footprint would increase by only about 187 square feet, keeping the combined taproom area under the incidental-retail maximum. "The proposed floor plan would expand the total to 3,152 square feet," Arnold said, and the taproom expansion "compares to the total square footage [so it] still equates to only 19.7, so still under 20% of the total floor area." Arnold also summarized parking review and recommended conditions of approval.

Staff presented a parking study and on-site observations showing minimal parking impacts since the brewery opened in 2016. Hamby Park (the industrial condo complex that includes the site) has a total of 105 spaces under a shared-parking concept; staff also noted a nearby park-and-ride lot with about 126 spaces. The parking survey counted at most 15 cars in the lot during weekdays and a maximum of 10 cars in peak hours after adjacent businesses closed; staff concluded the proposed expansion would not create significant parking impacts.

The owner's requested changes to hours reduce weekday start times and standardize evening close times: the approved hours are 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday–Friday and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday–Sunday. Conditions of approval also require adherence to the approved floor plan; any future increase in seats or a larger expansion would require another CUP amendment or review by the Design Review Committee.

Commissioners had no public testimony on the item. After brief comments in support, the commission voted by roll call to approve the amendment. The roll-call vote was recorded as: Commissioner Austin: yes; Commissioner Brown: yes; Commissioner Rose: yes; Commissioner Scheffler: yes; Commissioner Moshani: yes; Commissioner Vashani: yes; Chair Stehira: yes. The motion carried.

The chair read the appeal information after the vote: decisions of the Planning Commission may be appealed to the City Council if filed in writing with the city clerk within 10 days; appeal fees apply.

Details drawn from the staff presentation: the original CUP was approved on April 13, 2016, allowing on-site brewing and an ABC Type 23 manufacturer license with incidental retail limited to 20% of floor area; the expanded total manufacturing/retail allowance cited in the staff report was 2,531 square feet for microbrewery operations with a taproom limit of 621 square feet as the maximum incidental-retail allocation under the amended plan. No public comments were received during the noticed public hearing.

The commission's approval updates CUP 2016-04 as presented and subject to the staff-recommended conditions; the amendment becomes subject to the commission's appeal window and associated procedures.