Any business owner in Santa Monica knows that if they violate the conditions of their approval, chances are they aren’t going to get too much flak from City Hall.
That’s because conditional use permits are rarely enforced and if the business changes hands over the years, the conditions of approval carry over to the next owner. The Santa Monica Planning Commissioners think they can prevent it from happening in the future by putting a “sunset clause” on the approvals, forcing business owners to have their operation reviewed every few years.
“Everyone knows that if they get a conditional use permit they are gold,” said Planning Commission Chairman Kelly Olsen. “People can act up and it wouldn’t matter.”
The issue was raised last week when the commission reviewed an application for a new Japanese restaurant at 424 Wilshire Boulevard. Commissioners recognized that the approval they granted to restaurant owner Nori Kunitomo will carry over to anyone in the future regardless if the nature of the business changes. They considered having Kunitomo come back in three years for review, but decided to let this one go and come up with guidelines that will affect all new businesses across the board.
As part of Kunitomo’s approval, he won’t be able to dish out Asian cuisine until he finds a place to park. He will have to find 10 parking spaces within 1,000 feet of the restaurant to accommodate his employees and customers.
The lack of downtown parking is not a new issue in Santa Monica which is why the commission spent more than two hours scrutinizing Kunitomo’s restaurant, Musha. Because parking has become such a nightmare for both residents and visitors, the city requires on-site parking as a condition of approval for new businesses in the downtown area.
However, the restaurant location does-n’t have room for on-site parking, which is why Kunitomo was granted a variance from the city code that mandates all new businesses have on-site parking. Instead, Kunitomo will use leased spaces somewhere near his restaurant.
Howard Robinson, an independent land use consultant hired by Kunitomo, told the commission that if the business has to provide parking on site it could be detrimental to the small operation. Robinson asked the commission to consider going against city code and allow the restaurant to have parking somewhere else — like it has been historically at that location when the Jamaican Cafe occupied the space.
“This is the only alternative that will ensure the opening of Musha,” he said. He also laid out a second alternative as a compromise, which would only accommodate the restaurant’s six employees.
“This is what is achievable in the real world.”
The restaurant’s location, a 1,580-square-foot space between Fifth and Fourth Court alley on the south side of Wilshire, has been vacant since the Jamaican Cafe closed up shop in 1998. The city didn’t require on-site parking then because at the time there was a surplus of parking in the downtown structures.
Musha, which means “dream house” in Japanese, will serve up Asian cuisine, family style, Kunitomo said. Kunitomo, who owns another Musha restaurant in Torrance, said it is not a typical Japanese restaurant. There will be no tempura teriyaki, no sushi and it will be “reasonably priced.”
Several people spoke in favor of the application, saying independently owned restaurants are being replaced with chains, which takes the flavor away in Santa Monica. The building’s owner, Bruce Wagner, said the restaurant pays half the rent of similar spaces one block away on the 3rd Street Promenade.
“Many people have told me that it’s a problem that there are not enough small, individually owned restaurants here,” he said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 14, 2001. Read the original PDF.