Lafayette planning panel approves Park Theater restoration, adopts Resolution PC 2024-12

The Lafayette Planning Commission voted 4-0 to approve a redevelopment plan for the Park Theater in the city’s Plaza District, finding the project exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act and adopting Planning Commission Resolution 2024-12 to approve the proposal subject to conditions.

Planning staff told commissioners the project would restore the circa-1941 building and convert the vacant theater into two auditoriums, a community room and a rooftop terrace. Staff recommended approval with conditions including an underground PG&E transformer along Golden Gateway, a recorded trail easement to support a future Lafayette Creek path, mitigation planting for four removed protected trees, and required bicycle parking. "Staff recommends the Planning Commission find the project exempt from CEQA and adopt Resolution 2024-12 to approve the project subject to conditions," staff said during the presentation.

Applicant and design team representatives said the Park Theatre Trust, a volunteer nonprofit that purchased the building in December 2021, has secured community funding and selected Cinema SF as the proposed daily operator. Trust president Kathy Bowles described the organization as community-funded and investor-free: "The Park Theater Trust has no investors in this project," she said, and noted more than 1,000 individual donors to the renovation effort. Architect Adam Wenning walked the commission through plans that would add about 20 feet to the rear to create two theaters with estimated seating capacities of roughly 150 for the larger room and 49 for the smaller one, a community space above the lobby and a rooftop terrace with a 49-person limit. Wenning said the design includes a full seismic upgrade, cantilevering to avoid building in the floodplain and solar panels intended to move toward a near-net-zero building.

Neighbors and stakeholders raised operational and construction concerns during public comment. Susie Geldin, speaking for the Assistance League (which operates the Wayside Inn), urged careful planning for volunteer and donor access and said the organization relies on the site’s current parking for fundraising operations. "We gross over $600,000," Geldin said, asking how construction and ongoing theater activity would affect volunteer parking and donation logistics.

Staff responded that the eight tandem parking spaces referenced by the Assistance League are on a separate parcel and that the project as proposed does not change those spaces or the shared driveway access. Applicant representatives pledged to keep the shared driveway open and coordinate construction sequencing and communication with neighbors; "we have to leave that driveway open," an applicant said.

Commission discussion was broadly supportive. Commissioners praised the design work, staff’s analytical materials and the preservation-oriented approach to restoring Art Deco details such as the marquee. They asked for careful construction sequencing, sensible placement of the required bicycle parking, and strict rooftop lighting controls to limit light and noise impacts on nearby residences and Chateau Lafayette senior housing across the creek.

Vice chair Radnich moved to find the project exempt from CEQA and to adopt Resolution PC 2024-12 approving the project subject to the conditions recommended by staff; Chair LaVonge seconded. The motion passed by voice vote, 4-0, with Commissioner Heising excused.

The Planning Commission’s approval is subject to the project conditions described in the staff report, including the trail easement dedication, an exterior lighting plan for the rooftop terrace that requires downward-facing fixtures (except for cafe-style string lights), required bicycle parking with an alternative location along Golden Gateway, mitigation plantings and requirements to underground the transformer. The Park Theatre Trust will continue to work with city departments on construction logistics and on addressing neighbor concerns during implementation. The city council will consider the Trust’s request for a public art exemption at a future date.

Next procedural steps identified in the meeting packet include finalizing the project’s conditions and implementing the required easement and permit filings before construction begins. The commission adjourned after brief administrative reports and a preview of upcoming agenda items.