Commission approves California Surf Club conditional use permit after trimming rental‑specific conditions

The Harbor Commission on March 10 approved an exemption declaration and a conditional use permit (CUP) for a restaurant and a commercial recreational club use at 239–245 North Harbor Drive, allowing one building to remain public restaurant space and the other to operate as a membership-based commercial recreation club.

Planning staff and the applicants told the commission the action formally consolidates and replaces multiple older CUPs attached to the site and adds conditions to clarify safety and operational expectations. Steven Jang, senior planner, said the site includes two buildings totaling about 11,124 square feet with abundant outdoor seating, and that the parking lot serving the buildings contains 719 spaces while the combined uses require an estimated 357 spaces.

"In doing so, it will help with future confusion and will reduce operation or reduce the confusion with, permitting and planning related matters," Jang said about expunging earlier CUPs. The applicants, partners on the California Surf Club project Alan Sanford and Jeff Jones, described the commercial club as a paid‑membership amenity offering dining areas, conference rooms and limited, hand‑launched watercraft access such as kayaks and stand‑up paddleboards; they said no structural changes are proposed with this application.

Discussion among commissioners focused on safety, enforceability, and consistency with other harbor operators. Commissioners questioned whether a long list of rental‑specific conditions (numbered items in the staff resolution) should be imposed on this single operator while other harbor operators currently lack similar CUP conditions. Several commissioners argued the city should adopt a harbor‑wide ordinance to set uniform standards; others said the commission should retain specific safety requirements now rather than wait for an ordinance.

After deliberation, the commission voted to remove conditions 16 through 30 from the staff draft and to require that the applicant comply with United States Coast Guard regulations and applicable local, county, state and federal ordinances; the revised resolution also keeps indemnity and insurance requirements. The motion passed on a recorded vote of 5 in favor and 1 opposed.

The resolution also directs staff to pursue a broader, basin‑wide approach for regulating commercial recreational operators in Basin 3, where staff said many existing operators never obtained CUPs and the department is working on a comprehensive plan and an ordinance to provide consistent standards across the harbor.

Ending: The applicants said they will proceed under the approved CUP terms and that they support a future citywide ordinance; commissioners asked staff to return with draft ordinance language and to include the broader Basin 3 operators in the process.