San Clemente subcommittee recommends design controls, parking solution for La Casa Verde outdoor display
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Summary
The Cultural Heritage Subcommittee reviewed La Casa Verde Granada’s request to allow outdoor display in two required parking stalls at 130 Avenida Granada. Staff said display can benefit the street if well designed; members asked the owner to submit a site plan, pursue off‑site parking or a waiver, and keep two usable spaces until the planning commission hears the MCUP.
The Cultural Heritage Subcommittee of San Clemente on Dec. 10 reviewed an application and code‑enforcement file for La Casa Verde Granada, a retail tenant at 130 Avenida Granada operating from a 1928 Spanish Colonial Revival building on the city’s historic structures list. Staff said a public complaint and subsequent correction notice were opened after unpermitted outdoor display occupied two on‑site, required parking spaces.
Staff presented the zoning administrator’s referral and recommended the subcommittee provide feedback to guide conditions for a minor conditional use permit (MCUP). Staff stated that, if carefully designed, allowing outdoor display in place of paved parking “would provide a visual benefit to the street scene and the pedestrian experience,” but cautioned that findings must be made and that off‑site parking agreements or parking waivers are required where required parking would be removed.
The property owners said they have run the business for years and recently decluttered the frontage to restore two usable parking spaces. “I’ve been into recycling since I got out of Vietnam in ’69,” one applicant said while describing the family operation and its reuse mission. The applicants said they are willing to pursue an off‑site parking agreement with a neighboring lot and to limit frontage display if necessary.
Subcommittee members recommended a site plan showing increased landscaping to soften the display, a clear setback from the right of way, concentrated display to one side, and limiting display height near the sidewalk to 42 inches so the historic building remains visible. Staff advised the applicant to prepare a narrative describing how the business operates, who it serves and how it will adhere to display rules when it returns to the planning commission for the formal MCUP decision.
No permit was granted at the subcommittee meeting. Staff offered a pre‑hearing site visit and follow‑up assistance; applicants were told they may continue operating in the current configuration while they prepare a formal MCUP submittal and pursue either a documented off‑site parking agreement or a parking‑waiver request.