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Planning commission approves Le Macaron permit amendment to allow gelato in cups and cones
Summary
Staff and the applicant told the commission that Le Macaron is seeking an amendment to delete a prior restriction and allow gelato served in cups and cones; after commissioners debated enforcement and queuing the commission voted to approve the amendment and struck the ancillary-use monitoring condition while retaining a queuing condition.
City planning staff presented an amendment to conditional use permit 21-9542 for Le Macaron (184 South Coast Highway) to delete Condition 19 and allow gelato to be served in cups and cones as an ancillary offering. Staff told the commission the change makes no physical modifications to the suite and that the project is categorically exempt from CEQA; staff recommended adoption of Resolution 26-1377 to approve CUP 26-1377 as conditioned.
Michael Birmingham, who identified himself as the owner of La Macaron, said roughly "about 70% of our revenue consistently, comes from just macarons and pastries," and that allowing cups and cones would improve customer experience without changing the identity of the business. Commissioners asked whether the change constituted a modification of use and whether the Downtown Specific Plan permitted menu regulation. Staff said the amendment pathway is required because an existing CUP is on the site and noted the 2022 Downtown Specific Plan moved away from menu regulation.
Commissioners debated two specific conditions: an ancillary-use monitoring requirement (condition 14) intended to ensure gelato remained ancillary to the primary macaron/pastry business, and a queuing restriction (condition 18) intended to prevent stalled lines from spilling into the public right of way. Multiple commissioners said monitoring ancillary sales would be difficult and resource-intensive; the commission unanimously voted to approve the application and to remove condition 14 while leaving condition 18 in place for the director to enforce if complaints arise.
