To: PLANNING COMMISSION
From: JOHN CIAMPA, SENIOR PLANNER
TITLE
title
Public Hearing for consideration of an Exemption Declaration and Conditional Use Permit to allow for the operation of a gymnastics company (Fit Kids Gymnastics Center) for children and teenagers ages 2-18 within an existing 18,186 square foot industrial space on property located at 2605 Manhattan Beach Boulevard in the Industrial IC-1 Zone.
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Open the public hearing, administer oath, take testimony from staff, the applicant and other interested parties, and deliberate;
2. Close the public hearing; and
3. Adopt the attached resolution by title only, waiving further reading:
A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH ADOPTING AN EXEMPTION DECLARATION AND APPROVING THE REQUEST FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT TO ALLOW FOR THE OPERATION OF A GYMNASTICS COMPANY (FIT KIDS GYMNASTICS CENTER, INC.) FOR CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS AGES 2-18 WITHIN AN EXISTING 18,168 SQUARE FEET INDUSTRIAL SPACE ON PROPERTY LOCATED AT 2605 MANHATTAN BEACH BOULEVARD IN THE INDUSTRIAL (IC-1) ZONE (CASE NO. 20260288)
end
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The applicant, Fit Kids Gymnastics Center, is requesting approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow the relocation and operation of a gymnastics and youth fitness training facility within a 18,168-square-foot tenant space located at 2605 Manhattan Beach Boulevard within the West Bay Business Park.
Fit Kids Gymnastics Center is an established Redondo Beach business that has operated within the West Bay Business Park for approximately 17 years and is proposing to relocate from its current location at 2641 Manhattan Beach Boulevard (9,700 square feet) to a larger tenant space in the same business park. The proposed facility will provide gymnastics instruction, fitness training, dance-related activities, youth camps, weekend birthday parties, and related youth recreational programming for children and teenagers.
The facility will include gymnastics training equipment, balance beams, uneven bars, tumbling areas, foam pit activities, climbing features, administrative offices, restrooms, and ancillary retail sales of branded merchandise. All activities will occur entirely within the existing building and no outdoor instructional activities are proposed.
The proposed use is classified as a Personal Improvement Service pursuant to the Redondo Beach Municipal Code and requires approval of a Conditional Use Permit within the Industrial-Commercial (IC-1) Zone. Interior tenant improvements are proposed; no substantial exterior modifications to the building are requested.
BACKGROUND
Existing Site, Surroundings, Zoning, and Project Description
The subject property is located at 2601-2641 Manhattan Beach Boulevard within the West Bay Business Park, an existing industrial-commercial development situated on an approximately 6.58-acre site near the northwest corner of Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Inglewood Avenue. The property is zoned Industrial-Commercial (IC-1) and is developed with six industrial/commercial buildings totaling approximately 119,321 square feet.
Surrounding properties are characterized by industrial, commercial, and institutional uses. Properties to the north are zoned Industrial (I-1), to the east are zoned Commercial (C-1), and to the south are zoned residential (R-1). Properties further to the north and east are located within the City of Lawndale and contain commercial and industrial uses.
The West Bay Business Park contains 322 parking spaces and is occupied by a variety of commercial, industrial, office, and personal improvement service uses. The proposed tenant space is located in the northwestern portion of the business park with 40 parking spaces allocated to its use by the property owner, which is consistent with the number of parking spaces required by the Zoning Ordinance during weekdays based upon the size of the proposed classes and number of instructors.
Fit Kids Gymnastics Center has operated within the West Bay Business Park since approximately 2009 at 2641 Manhattan Beach Blvd. and is seeking to relocate to the larger 18,168-square-foot space at 2605 Manhattan Beach Boulevard to accommodate expanded programming and equipment that will be more appealing to customers. According to the applicant, the proposed location is situated within the least utilized portion of the West Bay Business Park and is separated from the primary parking demand areas serving other tenants.
ANALYSIS
Conditional Use Permit
Pursuant to RBMC Sections 10-2.1020 and 10-2.2506, the proposed gymnastics training facility is classified as a Personal Improvement Service and requires approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) within the Industrial-Commercial (IC-1) zone. The purpose of the CUP process is to ensure that the proposed use operates in a manner that is compatible with surrounding businesses and properties and does not adversely affect neighboring uses. Through the CUP review, potential operational impacts including parking demand, noise generation, traffic circulation, and other land use compatibility considerations are evaluated and, where necessary, addressed through conditions of approval.
Facility
The proposed Fit Kids Gymnastics Center suite is situated at the northwestern corner of the industrial/commercial complex. The suite consists of administrative offices, restrooms, and a large indoor activity area used for gymnastics and youth fitness instruction. The tenant space consists primarily of a large open gymnasium area designed to accommodate gymnastics instruction and related youth fitness activities. The facility layout includes multiple floor exercise areas, balance beams, tumbling strips, uneven bars, climbing and obstacle-course elements, a foam pit, exercise rooms, administrative offices, and supporting restroom facilities. The open configuration allows for the placement of specialized gymnastics equipment while maintaining adequate circulation and supervision areas for instructors, students, and parents. No expansion of the building footprint is proposed, and operations would occur entirely within the existing enclosed tenant space with no modifications.
The office areas are served by mechanical air conditioning, while the activity area is ventilated through a combination of roll-up doors and natural airflow. The building includes two roll-up doors along the west elevation and one roll-up door on the north elevation, which provide cross-ventilation within the activity area. According to the applicant, this ventilation configuration has been utilized by previous tenants at the subject property and is similar to the arrangement at the applicant's existing facility.
Business Operations
Classes generally operate in scheduled instructional blocks throughout the day with enrollment varying by age group and program type. The applicant indicates that classes are designed as instructor-led training sessions emphasizing physical fitness, coordination development, and gymnastics skills. The facility's operations are primarily concentrated during after-school hours, evenings, and weekends.
The applicant's sample schedules (Attachment 5) indicate that weekday activity is generally concentrated between approximately 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., while weekend programming occurs primarily during daytime hours. Birthday parties are proposed on weekends and would occur entirely indoors within the facility.
The proposed hours of operation are
• Monday through Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
• Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
• Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
• Sunday: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Parking
Pursuant to Redondo Beach Municipal Code Section 10-2.1706, the proposed gymnastics facility is classified as a health and physical fitness club, which requires one parking space per employee plus one parking space for every two students. Based on the applicant's proposed operations, parking demand would vary throughout the day and is greatest during weekday evening hours and weekends when class enrollment is highest.
Table 1 provided below identifies the three different operational periods for the business and the parking demand based on the parking use category of health and physical fitness club.
The subject 18,168 square foot tenant space is within a larger existing development that includes approximately 119,321 square feet of mixed industrial and commercial uses. The existing number of parking spaces in support of all uses on the larger property was originally built with a parking ratio of approximately one (1) space per 375 square feet. This is a generally consistent rate with current parking requirements assuming fifty percent of the future uses would be warehouse and fifty percent commercial.
Field observations conducted by staff and information provided by the applicant (Attachment 6) demonstrate that a surplus of parking spaces is regularly available throughout the business park with very limited use on the weekends.
Staff also finds that the proposed use is particularly compatible with the site's shared parking characteristics. Unlike the majority of tenants within the center, Fit Kids Gymnastics Center’s peak operating periods occur during after-school hours, evenings, and weekends, when parking demand from surrounding businesses is significantly reduced. As a result, the facility's highest parking demand of 60 spaces would occur during periods when excess parking capacity exists on-site. In addition, a portion of the facility's activity consists of short-term parent drop-off and pick-up activity rather than long-term vehicle parking.
Based on the existing pool of parking for this tenant space of 48 spaces and available parking inventory, historical operating experience within the West Bay Business Park, parking observations conducted by staff, and the operational characteristics and times of the proposed use, staff concludes that the project will not create adverse parking impacts or result in parking spillover onto adjacent properties or public streets. Therefore, staff finds that adequate parking is available to accommodate the proposed gymnastics facility and existing uses within the center.
Noise
Potential noise impacts associated with gymnastics training facilities were evaluated as part of the CUP review. All instructional activities will occur entirely within the unit building and no outdoor classes or activities are proposed.
The applicant indicates that the facility emphasizes instructor-led training and does not utilize amplified music or outdoor activities. The applicant further states that operations at the existing location within the business park have not generated noise complaints during approximately 17 years of operation.
Supporting correspondence submitted by the property owner and adjacent tenants of the current location at 2641 Manhattan Beach Blvd confirms that Fit Kids Gymnastics Center has operated within the complex for more than a decade without creating noise impacts on neighboring tenants. Additionally, BearCom a telecommunications supplier located next to the proposed space indicates that no noise concerns were experienced from the previous training-related tenant occupying the building (Attachment 7).
Given the proposed location of the use in the north west corner of the industrial commercial facility, enclosed nature of the unit, separation from residentially zoned properties (nearly 350 feet south across Manhattan Beach Blvd), and the documented operational history of the business within the same business park, staff finds that the proposed use would operate without creating significant noise impacts to surrounding properties. Conditions of approval requiring compliance with applicable City noise standards are however included in the attached Planning Commission Resolution.
Conditional Use Permit Findings
Pursuant to Redondo Beach Municipal Code Section 10-2.610, the proposed Fit Kids Gymnastics Center use is classified as “Personal Improvement Service” which requires Planning Commission approval since the use is classified as a personal improvement and the space is over 2,000 square feet. The Conditional Use Permit serves to ensure that certain uses possessing unique characteristics will not adversely affect surrounding uses and properties, nor disrupt the orderly development of the community. For approval of the project, the Planning Commission must make the following findings in the affirmative. The following italicized text is the specific response to the individual criteria:
a) The site for the proposed use shall be in conformity with the General Plan, and when located within the Artesia and Aviation Corridors Area Plan area shall be consistent with the intent of the Artesia and Aviation Corridors Area Plan as adopted by resolution of the City Council, and shall be adequate in size and shape to accommodate such use and all setbacks, spaces, walls and fences, parking, loading, landscaping, and other features required by this chapter to adjust such use with the land and uses in the neighborhood.
The proposed Fit Kids Gymnastics Center is not located within the Artesia and Aviation Corridors Area Plan. The Fit Kids Gymnastics Center will be housed within an existing industrial building previously used by “Velocity” which was a similar Personal Improvement Service tenant. The proposed use is in conformity with the General Plan land use designation of Industrial-Commercial (IC-1) zone which allows “personal improvement services”. The gymnastics studio, as conditioned, is required to have dedicated parking in an amount required by the City’s parking regulations for this use type which is determined to be 40 spaces on weekdays from 8:00am to 5:00pm and 60 spaces from 5:00pm to 10:00pm on weekdays and 8:00am to 10:00pm on weekends. The gymnastics studio, as conditioned, will not generate excessive noise, is located more than 300 feet from any sensitive land uses (residential south of Manhattan Beach Blvd) and will be in conformity with City’s Noise Element and RBMC Noise requirements.
b) The site for the proposed use shall have adequate access to a public street or highway of adequate width and pavement to carry the quantity and kind of traffic generated by the proposed use.
The site is adjacent to Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Inglewood Avenue intersection, and is accessed by three (3) existing two-way driveways on Manhattan Beach Boulevard that comply with RBMC driveway standards. Pedestrian access is provided by existing ADA compliant walkways from the public sidewalk on Manhattan Beach Boulevard.
c) The proposed use shall have no adverse effect on abutting property or the permitted use thereof.
The gymnastics studio will operate within an existing tenant space that is located in the northwest corner of the property that is adjacent to industrial uses.
The subject 18,168 square foot tenant space is within a larger existing development that includes approximately 126,726 square feet of mixed industrial and commercial uses. The existing number of parking spaces in support of all uses on the larger property was originally built with a parking ratio of approximately one (1) space per 375 square feet. This is a generally consistent rate with current parking requirements assuming fifty percent of the future uses would be warehouse and fifty percent commercial. Pursuant to the City’s parking standard of "one space per employee, plus one space per each two students” for "personal improvement services”, this project is only required to provide 40 parking spaces during normal business hours from 8:00am to 5:00pm. Since the existing parking field for the subject tenant space is 48 spaces the use, as proposed, complies with the City’s parking regulations. Additionally, the proposed facility's peak operating hours occur primarily during weekday evenings (5:00pm to 10:00pm) and weekends (8:00am to 10:00pm) when many surrounding industrial and commercial tenants have reduced activity or are closed, resulting in a greater availability of on-site parking to accommodate the increased staffing and class sizes that would require 60 parking spaces. Finally, the applicant has demonstrated a history of operating within the business park without parking-related complaints or conflicts and has structured class schedules to limit peak occupancy. Based on the available parking inventory, operational characteristics of the use, and the staggered parking demand among tenants, the parking arrangement will not create adverse impacts on neighboring properties or the overall function of the business park.
d) The conditions stated in the resolution or design considerations integrated into the project shall be deemed necessary to protect the public health, safety, and general welfare. Such conditions may include, but shall not be limited to:
a. Additional setbacks, open spaces, and buffers;
i. The existing setbacks comply with applicable RBMC development standards.
b. Provision of fences and walls;
i. Not applicable. No new fences or walls are proposed with this project.
c. Street dedications and improvements, including service roads and alleys;
i. The proposed use does not trigger street dedications. Improvements along the frontage of the subject property (Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Inglewood Avenue) are consistent with City standards.
d. The control of vehicular ingress, egress, and circulation;
i. The existing three (3) two-way access driveways comply with Zoning Ordinance and Public Works standards. Additionally, the suite’s location at the northwest corner of the complex provides ample parking for customers and is separated from the other business, which will further improve circulation on the subject property.
e. Sign requirements or a sign program, consistent with the Sign Regulations Criteria in Section 10-2.1802;
i. Signage will be required to comply with the City’s signage regulations and will be processed under a separate permit.
f. Provision of landscaping and the maintenance thereof;
i. Existing compliant landscaping to remain.
g. The regulation of noise, vibration, odor and the like;
i. All instructional activities will occur entirely within the enclosed building, and the use does not include outdoor operations, amplified music, or high-noise activities. The applicant has operated within the West Bay Business Park for many years without documented noise complaints, and both the property owner and adjacent tenant have confirmed that the existing operation has not created noise-related issues.
i. No deliveries are anticipated for the operation of the business. Parking will occur to the north and west of the building, separated from the other units and their parking area.
h. Requirements for off-street loading facilities;
i. No deliveries are anticipated for the operation of the business. Drop off/pick up will occur to the north of the building, separated from the larger main parking area.
i. A time period within which the proposed use shall be developed;
i. The proposed certificate of occupancy and any future tenant improvements will comply with required building plan check, permit, and inspections schedules.
j. Hours of permitted operation and similar restrictions;
i. The hours of operation will be 8:00AM to 8:00PM Monday through Thursday; 8:00AM to 8:00PM on Fridays, 8:00AM to 10:00PM on Saturdays, and 9:00AM to 10:00PM on Sundays.
k. Removal of existing billboards on the site, subject to the findings required by Section 10-2.2006(b); and
i. Not applicable. No billboards are located on this subject property.
l. Such other conditions as will make possible the development of the City in an orderly and efficient manner and in conformity with the intent and purposes set forth in this chapter, the Artesia and Aviation Corridors Area Plan as adopted by resolution of the City Council, and the General Plan.
i. The conditions of approval address all noted issues of concern, namely potential parking (condition project for drop of/pick up to rear of building) and noise (condition project to conduct and implement noise mitigation per noise analysis) resulting in a project that is in conformity with the intentions and purposes of the applicable provisions of the City’s Zoning Ordinance and its General Plan.
The project is consistent with the Comprehensive General Plan of the City. Policy 1.3.1 of the Land Use Element allows for the development of commercial services which provide for the needs of current and future residents. The Fit Kids Gymnastics Center will be of service to local residents. No additional buffers or setbacks are warranted as additional sound attenuation conditions are required and there is an existing 304-foot setback from the nearest residential uses to the south. No dedications or easements are required. No new fences or walls are required. Proposed signage shall require a separate permit and shall be consistent with the Sign Regulations/Criteria in Section 10-2.1802. No new landscaping is required. As conditioned, the gymnastics studio is not anticipated to generate unusual noise, vibration, or additional traffic. No changes to the existing delivery/service area are necessary for the proposed gymnastics studio and ancillary retail use. Additional conditions of approval have been added that require the following:
• Set hours of operation;
• Maximum number of employees at the business at any given time;
• The use shall occur exclusively within the interior of the tenant space; and
• Class sizes and staffing shall not result in a parking demand that would exceed the total number of parking spaces provided at the site.
Based on a review of the plans by the Planning Division, approval of the project is recommended.
ENVIRONMENTAL STATUS
The proposed project is Categorically Exempt from the preparation of environmental analyses, pursuant to Sections 15301(a) (Existing Facilities) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This section exempts projects involving minor interior and exterior alterations of existing structures including interior partitions, plumbing, and electrical, with no expansion, from environmental review. The project does not propose any floor area expansion, and work will be limited to interior renovations within the existing building, consistent with those items specified as exempt under this section.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve the Exemption Declaration and grant the Conditional Use Permit subject to the findings and conditions contained within the attached draft resolution.
Prepared by: Approved by:
_________________________ _________________________
John Ciampa Marc Wiener
Senior Planner Community Development Director
ATTACHMENTS
1. Manhattan Beach Boulevard - Exemption Declaration
2. 2605 Manhattan Beach Boulevard - Draft Resolution
3. 2605 Manhattan Beach Boulevard - CUP Application
4. 2605 Manhattan Beach Boulevard - Plans
5. 2605 Manhattan Beach Boulevard - Schedule
6. 2605 Manhattan Beach Boulevard - Parking Survey
7. 2605 Manhattan Beach Boulevard - Neighboring Business Letters