Bel Air planning panel approves site plan for new 3,300‑square‑foot storefront with conditional parking and dining rules

The Bel Air Planning Commission on July 3 approved a site plan for a proposed 3,300‑square‑foot, one‑story commercial building on a 15,000‑square‑foot lot, authorizing 23 parking spaces — including 16 tandem (stacked) spaces — and conditioning approval on final agency sign‑offs and specific parking‑management measures.

The commission’s approval, passed by unanimous voice vote, also included a special‑development permit for outdoor dining and a landscape approval that requires the applicant to pay a $3,600 fee in lieu for mitigation of removed trees before a building permit is issued.

Planner Kevin (planning staff) told the commission the property requires 22 parking spaces under code; the applicant proposes 23, with 16 proposed as tandem or stacked stalls. To limit circulation impacts, the applicant proposed stencils, signage and a chain barrier to reserve deeper spaces for employees. “They will provide signage related to the allocated spaces along with a chain barrier for employee parking to mitigate some of those impacts,” Kevin said in his…