PARKING, PATIOS, AND PUBLIC ART: WHAT WILL THE PLANNING COMMISSION DECIDE MONDAY NIGHT?
Besides approval of minutes, the agenda has only three items, and one of those is on the Consent Calendar. Don’t blink, or the meeting may be over before you think.
🏢Costa Mesa Planning Commission Meeting – Monday, November 9, 2026 at 6:00 PM
📍 City Council Chambers, 77 Fair Drive
📄 View the Agenda here.
Attend in person or by Zoom, watch on TV, or on YouTube. Instructions are in the Agenda.
🎤 PUBLIC COMMENTS: This is the time for YOU to comment for THREE FREE minutes on ANYTHING that is not on the agenda. WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE CITY CLERK BY NOON.
🗂️ CONSENT CALENDAR: There are two items here:
1. Minutes of the October 26 meeting.
2. Review of Proposed Artwork for Freeway-Facing Façade of Building A of One Metro West Development at 1683 Sunflower Avenue. Staff requests approval of the proposed freeway-facing artwork treatment for Building A at One Metro West and has found that no additional environmental review is required because the proposal is covered by the project's previously certified Environmental Impact Report.
Project Background: A 2026 redesign changed Building A from a wrap-style structure to a podium-style building, eliminating the originally planned seven-level freeway-facing parking structure. As a result, the required public-art element is now proposed as an integrated architectural façade treatment.
Design Features: The proposal includes stepped building massing, curved illuminated coves, landscaped decks with vertical greenery, and stone- and wood-toned finishes. Lighting would be static, shielded, dimmable, and capable of seasonal color changes.
Code Compliance: The design is intended to satisfy the project's public-art and vertical-landscaping requirements while avoiding moving, flashing, reflective, or noise-generating elements.
Previous Review: The Arts Commission reviewed the proposal on October 1, 2026, expressed no opposition, and received no public comments.
IF YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, YOU MUST REQUEST THAT THE CLERK PULL IT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
📢 PUBLIC HEARINGS: Two items here:
1. Conditional Use Permit and Minor Conditional Use Permit for Shared Parking and Reduced Medical-Office Parking Requirements. Property owner representative Mike Easton (Easton Pacific), on behalf of the owners of the medical-office complex at 1120, 1122, and 1124 Bristol Street, requests approval to formalize shared parking among the three separately owned parcels and reduce the parking required for existing and future medical office uses.
Project Overview: The 2.26-acre General Commercial (C1) site contains three two-story buildings totaling approximately 38,800 square feet and 151 existing parking spaces. No new construction, building expansions, exterior modifications, or changes to the parking layout are proposed. Instead, the application seeks administrative approvals that would allow the three properties to function as a single parking system while accommodating additional medical-office tenants.
Why the Parking Reduction Is Requested: Under City code, a fully occupied medical-office complex of this size would require 233 parking spaces. The project would receive credit for 154 spaces, including bicycle-parking credits, resulting in a requested reduction of 79 spaces.
To support the request, the applicant submitted a three-day parking study showing a projected peak demand of just 82 vehicles, or about 53 percent of the available parking supply. According to the study, approximately 72 parking spaces would remain available even during the busiest periods. While the site is already estimated to have a 29-space deficit under current parking standards, Staff concluded that actual parking demand is significantly lower than the code assumes and that observed conditions support the requested reduction.
Proposed Safeguards: To ensure parking remains available, the approval would require a recorded reciprocal parking agreement allowing shared use across all three parcels. The credited parking supply must remain available to serve the complex, bicycle parking must be maintained, and the City would retain authority to impose corrective measures if parking problems arise. Potential remedies could include operational changes, limits on medical uses, or adding valet parking. Applicable traffic impact fees would also be required.
Staff Analysis: Staff found that the proposed medical-office uses are compatible with the surrounding mix of commercial and medical properties along Bristol Street and would not significantly impact nearby residences. The request is consistent with the site's General Commercial land-use designation and C1 zoning and aligns with City policies supporting access to local medical services.
What Matters: The key issue is whether the City should rely on actual parking demand data rather than applying the City's standard parking formula. Staff concludes that the evidence supports a reduced parking requirement while preserving safeguards that can be used if future parking demand exceeds expectations.
2. Conditional Use Permit for Alcohol Service and Late-Night Entertainment at EZ Kebab/Bei Restaurant. EZ Kebab/Bei Restaurant requests to allow alcohol sales for on-site consumption, live entertainment after 11:00 p.m., and an expansion of its outdoor public seating area at 1951 Harbor Boulevard. Because the restaurant is located within 200 feet of residentially zoned property, the City requires approval of both a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and a Minor Conditional Use Permit (MCUP).
Project Overview: The restaurant is located in the City's General Business (C2) zone, with multifamily residential properties situated across the alley to the west. The Applicant is requesting permission to continue operating under its Type 47 liquor license for beer, wine, and spirits, extend operating hours until 2:00 a.m., and expand its outdoor dining area.
Although the requested hours are 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily, the operator indicated the restaurant typically closes around 12:30 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 1:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Outdoor Dining Expansion: The proposal would add a new 300-square-foot prefabricated patio in an area currently used as a driveway, supplementing the restaurant's existing 522-square-foot patio. The building itself contains only about 435 square feet of interior public dining space, making the outdoor seating area a significant component of the business.
As part of the project, the Harbor Boulevard driveway would be removed and replaced with curb, gutter, and sidewalk improvements. In addition, the Applicant must either remove or legally resolve an existing patio encroachment into the public right-of-way through a recorded agreement with the City. All 10 existing parking spaces would remain available.
Noise Concerns and Proposed Restrictions: A major focus of the review is the potential impact of late-night activity on nearby residents. Between October 2025 and May 2026, the City received seven noise-related complaints involving amplified music, karaoke, and weekend entertainment. Staff verified some complaints, but could not substantiate others.
To address these concerns, Staff has recommended extensive operating conditions. Live entertainment would be limited to the existing patio area and would be required to end by midnight. Permitted entertainment would consist of low-intensity performances such as acoustic music, vocals, keyboards, ouds, and similar dining-oriented entertainment.
The conditions would also prohibit DJs, outdoor dancing, subwoofers, and amplified bass. Only one outdoor speaker would be allowed, and it must be directed toward Harbor Boulevard and away from nearby residences.
Enforcement Measures: The applicant would be required to have management on-site during operating hours, actively monitor sound levels, comply with the City's Noise Ordinance, and promptly respond to complaints. If verified noise problems occur, the City could require additional mitigation measures, including acoustic studies, sound attenuation improvements, or modifications to the entertainment setup. Continued noncompliance could result in permit modification or revocation.
Staff Analysis: Staff concluded that the proposal would not expand the building or change the underlying restaurant use, but would allow extended operating hours, limited live entertainment, and additional outdoor dining opportunities. Staff found the project consistent with the General Plan's goals of supporting commercial activity and retaining local businesses while imposing conditions intended to minimize impacts on neighboring residents.
Police and Code Enforcement staff reported no objections to the project provided the recommended conditions are adopted.
What Matters: The central question is whether the City's operating restrictions are sufficient to allow the restaurant to expand its nighttime activities while protecting nearby residents from noise and other potential nuisances. Staff believes the proposed conditions strike that balance by giving the business more flexibility while giving the City enforcement tools if problems arise.
🕰️ OLD BUSINESS: None.
🆕 NEW BUSINESS: None.
🎤 PUBLIC COMMENTS: This is the time to speak up! YOU get THREE FREE minutes to comment on ANYTHING that is not on the agenda at the beginning of the meeting and each agendized items as they come up. Written public comments are due by noon on Monday.
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