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Applicant withdraws conditional-use permit for 940 Hastings after neighbor complaints; city warns events without CUP would be illegal
Summary
An applicant seeking to convert part of 940 Hastings into a banquet hall withdrew its conditional-use permit application. Planning staff said neighbors had complained about noise, the city adopted new limits (200-person cap; midnight closing), and staff warned operating without a CUP or proper occupancy classification would violate codes.
The council accepted the withdrawal of a conditional-use permit application for 940 Hastings on Feb. 2 after city planning staff summarized neighborhood concerns and recent code changes.
Nate Sparks presented the item, explaining the property (formerly Cimic's building) had been purchased by Evident Healthcare, which had proposed converting a large storage area into a banquet hall and event space. Sparks said the planning commission heard multiple neighbor complaints that the facility had already been operating prior to approval and that noise carried late into the night.
Sparks said the city adopted a new ordinance capping banquet-hall visitors at 200 and setting closing time at midnight in the B-2 zoning district. He said the applicant told staff it wanted to "withdraw the application, re-evaluate what they want to do, and then perhaps reapply in the future." Council members asked what would happen if events continued without approval; Sparks said, "technically, it would be illegal for them to operate without the CUP," and described occupancy, fire-safety, and building-code requirements that differentiate storage uses from assembly uses.
Council members also raised parking concerns: Sparks explained the existing lot was sized for the building's prior institutional use and that a banquet or assembly use would require substantially more stalls — he cited that storage use counts as about one stall per 1,000 square feet while the proposed event use would require counts closer to one per 80 or 40 square feet depending on configuration. Hugo (staff) and Sparks added that liquor service could be handled via a caterer's permit or by the operator obtaining a liquor license; otherwise, unpermitted events could trigger enforcement.
The council moved to accept the withdrawal of the application; the motion passed 5-0. Staff said they will close the current application file and expect any future application to address noise mitigation, parking and code compliance.
