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Planning commission votes to add 'wedding venues' to HRC‑2 visitor‑serving uses
Summary
The commission unanimously approved amending allowable uses in the HRC‑2 zone to include wedding venues, a change staff said is consistent with visitor‑serving activity in the Funk Zone; the decision enables applications like a proposed rooftop/first‑floor venue at 25 East Mason Street.
The Planning Commission unanimously approved a staff recommendation to add wedding venues to the list of visitor‑serving uses allowed in the HRC‑2 (Hotel and Related Commerce) zone.
Kelly Bradison of Community Development presented the discussion item for 25 East Mason Street, a property in the Funk Zone known as the Beacon Building. Bradison told the commission the proposal would let a private operator run ceremonies on a new rooftop deck and receptions on the first floor, with ancillary catering, dressing rooms and office space. Staff asked the commission to determine whether a wedding venue is appropriately categorized as a visitor‑serving or commercial recreational use in HRC‑2.
Architect Clay Aurell (AB Design Studio), representing the applicant, said the operator runs multiple venues nationally and emphasized that the proposed use is comparable to hotel‑based ceremony/reception facilities: “If this was a hotel like the Californian, you could have a wedding venue in the hotel in the same zone,” he said, adding the operation would be primarily evening and weekend events.
Commissioners asked technical questions about the property’s dual HRC‑2/OC zoning and how development standards apply on dual‑zoned parcels; staff explained that while both zones’ uses can apply, development standards (setbacks, height) may defer to the OC zone for dual‑zoned properties. No public comment was received on the item.
Several commissioners said the use fits the Funk Zone’s visitor‑serving character and noted precedent for similar visitor‑serving uses in the area. A motion to add wedding venues to the HRC‑2 visitor‑serving use list passed unanimously; staff will reflect the amendment in the zoning use list and applicants in HRC‑2 may pursue wedding‑venue proposals subject to standard permitting and coastal review where applicable.
What happens next: the decision updates the zoning use framework for HRC‑2 parcels; individual projects seeking to operate as wedding venues would still require the applicable land‑use approvals, coastal review and building permits.
