August 9, 2005

TUPR-07-17-05: A Temporary Use Permitted Upon Review request for a Latin Festival to be held at Gaslight Tavern located at 317 North 2^nd Street. Submitted by Jeff Fortier owner of Gaslight Tavern.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Current Zoning and Land Use:	C-4 (General Commercial District); existing tavern.
Surrounding Zoning and Land Use:	C-4 (General Commercial District) to the immediate north and south, existing tavern to the north, retail shops to the south.
	M-2 (General Industrial District) to the east and further to the north and south; private garage to the north, parking to the east, and undeveloped to the south.
	M-3 (Intensive Industrial District) to the west; undeveloped land; further to the west, the levee and Riverfront Park.

STAFF REVIEW

The subject property is located at 317 N. 2^nd Street and is developed with a building which houses retail shops in the southern and center portion and the tavern in the northern portion. The proposed event will take place from noon to 11:00 pm on Saturday, August 13^th, 2005. The applicant proposes to block off the entire parking lot to the west of the building. The temporary use request is to allow the use of the parking lot for the set up of tables and chairs for overflow seating. .

Per Section 20-1454.4(a)(3) administrative approval of temporary events is permitted on properties where the parking provided on the site exceeds the amount of parking required by the zoning ordinance for the principal use(s) on the property. An approved site plan (SP-07-48-03) is on file in the Planning Office for this subject property. The approved site plan required a minimum of 20 off-street parking spaces and shows a total of 9 spaces provided. The Lawrence Board of Zoning Appeals granted a variance on August 7, 2003 to allow a minimum of 9 parking spaces. Therefore, this property does not meet the criteria for administrative approval.

Per Section 20-1454.5 of the Zoning Ordinance, the request is classified as a Temporary Use which is subject to City Commission approval. “Such permit may be subject to such conditions and safeguards as the City Commission may deem necessary to protect the public health, safety and welfare. These conditions may include but shall not be limited to:

(a) Restrictions on the hours of operation, duration of the event, size of the activity or other operational characteristic.”

· The existing tavern contains approximately 300 square feet of public area and a 500 square foot patio. The applicant has estimated that there may be 250 attendees. The applicant will have doormen posted to insure the interior capacity of the tavern is not exceeded.

· The event is scheduled from noon until 11:00 pm. This stated end time corresponds to an agreement the tavern owners have with the North Lawrence Improvement Association regarding outdoor music events.

· If the City Commission determines that the event should be allowed, a limit could be placed on the size of the event to prevent over-crowding of the facility.

“(b) The posting of a performance bond to help ensure that the operation of the event and subsequent restoration of the site are conducted according to City Commission expectations.”

· The North Lawrence Improvement Association would like assurance that the festival will end at 11:00 pm and that clean-up of the area will be prompt.

· If the City Commission determines this use is appropriate, a bond could be required to ensure that expectations are met.

“(c) The provision of traffic control or security personnel to increase the public safety and convenience.”

· The applicant will have personnel working traffic control and security for the duration of the event. Traffic control personnel will encourage attendees to park south of the river and walk across the bridge or will direct customers to the City parking lot across the street. A pedestrian cross walk with push button activation exists at the intersection of N. 2nd Street and Locust Street.

· The ADA parking space will also be removed, so there will not be handicapped accessible parking at Gaslight Tavern for this event. ADA requires parking spaces to be on the shortest direct route. Since the entire parking lot would be closed, the next closest route would be across the street. The handicap parking spaces at that location would fulfill the requirements.

· Security personnel will limit the items people can bring in and maintain the occupancy limit of the Tavern.

· Security will be provided in key areas, including the parking lot, general crowd area and entrance gates.

“(d) Obtaining liability and personal injury insurance in such form and amount as the City Commission may find necessary to protect the safety and general welfare of the community.”

· If the City Commission determines this use is appropriate, insurance may be required.

“(e) Signs displayed in conjunction with use shall comply with City sign regulations and shall not be located on public right-of-way. Signs for commercial activities shall only be displayed during hours of operation.”

· The applicant is aware of the sign ordinance and will comply. They have been notified that a temporary sign permit is needed if they plan to have additional signage for the event.

Additional Issues

· All food and concessions will be sold by Gaslight Tavern, within the current premises. The expanded use is for seating only. Sanitation stations and waste removal will be arranged. The Douglas County Health Department requires 1 sanitation station per 100 attendees. The tavern has indoor restrooms, so 2 sanitation stations would be required. The stations would need to be placed in an accessible area that minimizes the reduction in area for the event and if approved, shown on the site plan.

· The applicant has obtained the Temporary Extension of Premises license from the Kansas Department of Revenue/Alcoholic Beverage Control and has applied for a City temporary liquor license permit so alcohol can be consumed in the parking lot.

· Ted Boyle, president of the North Lawrence Improvement Association, was contacted to find the Association’s view of the event. The Association is not opposed to the event, but does have a few concerns. The event is scheduled to end at 11:00 pm and they want the music to end at that time. They have an agreement with the tavern that all outside music will end at 11:00 pm and the music regularly goes on past that time. They also feel that a performance bond, or other means of insurance, should be required so that the parking areas and general area will be cleaned the day after the event.

· There have been some revisions to the site that have not been in compliance with City code. There is a patio cover and an awning on the north side of the building. The patio cover is technically a structure and would have required a building permit, which wasn’t obtained. Since the property is in the environs of the Union Pacific Depot (402 N 2^nd St.) any site changes or alterations must be approved by the Lawrence Historic Resource Administrator. The patio cover and awning must be submitted to the Historic Resource Administrator regardless of the outcome of this Temporary Use Permitted upon Review request and the applicant has been notified of this.

· A note on the approved site plan (SP-07-48-03) reads “All traffic control signs placed on private property open to the general public shall comply with the ‘manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices’ and ‘Standard Highway Signs’, published by the Federal Highway Administration, with respect to size, shape, color, retroreflectivity, and position.” The signage on the property will have to be replaced.

Staff has concerns regarding the precedent of approving a Temporary Use Permit on a property that does not provide parking in excess of the Zoning Ordinance requirements and where the site does not conform to the approved site plan. Staff has suggested alternate locations to the applicant and has tried to outline the concerns that this request poses. Staff also has a concern regarding the precedence of approval of a Temporary Use Permit where adequate site size is an issue and on-site parking cannot be provided.

Recommendation: Planning Staff recommends denial of the Temporary Use Permit for a Latin Festival for Saturday, August 13th, 2005 from noon to 11:00 pm. The small area of the site and the close proximity of the neighboring businesses make it a less than satisfactory site for a festival. The lack of on-site parking increases the potential for accidents. The applicant is addressing other issues with the placement of security personnel, sanitation stations and traffic control staff; however, the potential for accidents is great given the expected attendance and the need to cross the street or river to access their vehicles.

Staff would recommend relocating this event to an area with adequate parking. If the City Commission chooses to approve this request, a performance bond should be set which will insure that the festival and outside music will end at 11:00 pm and that the area and the parking area on the east side of N. 2^nd Street are cleaned promptly.