City of Hermosa Beach - File #: REPORT 23-0247

File #:

REPORT 23-0247 Version: 1

Name:

Type:

Action Item

Status:

Public Hearing

File created:

4/13/2023

In control:

City Council

On agenda:

4/25/2023

Final action:

Title:

ADOPT ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING PERMANENT OUTDOOR PERMIT PROGRAMS AND DOWNTOWN LANE RECONFIGURATIONS AND ACCOMPANYING RESOLUTIONS (Environmental Programs Manager Doug Krauss)

Attachments:

Staff Report Text

Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council

Regular Meeting of April 25, 2023

Title

ADOPT ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING PERMANENT OUTDOOR PERMIT PROGRAMS AND DOWNTOWN LANE RECONFIGURATIONS AND ACCOMPANYING RESOLUTIONS

(Environmental Programs Manager Doug Krauss)

Body

Recommended Action:

Recommendation

Staff recommends City Council:

1. Introduce and waive first reading of Ordinance 23-XXXX amending various sections of Chapter 12.16 of the Hermosa Beach Municipal Code establishing a permanent outdoor dining program and the determination that the project is Categorically Exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Attachment 1);

2. Adopt a resolution approving revised guidelines for encroachments on Pier Plaza and off-Plaza public rights-of-way (Attachment 2);

3. Adopt a resolution approving lane reconfigurations and bike lanes in the downtown area (Attachment 3);

4. Adopt a resolution establishing a fee schedule for encroachments citywide (Attachment 4); and

5. Consider staff recommendations for the remaining elements of the outdoor dining program with a plan for staff to return to Council for formal action at a future meeting.

Body

Executive Summary:

At its December 14, 2021 meeting, City Council provided staff with direction to develop long-term versions of the temporary outdoor dining and downtown lane reconfiguration programs that were created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Council subsequently extended the temporary program through May 1, 2023 with direction to staff to bring the elements of the program to Council before that date.

The final elements necessary to establish the long-term program are presented here for Council’s consideration and approval. These include an ordinance amending Chapter 12.16 (Encroachments) of the Hermosa Beach Municipal Code, a resolution revising existing operational and design guidelines for Pier Plaza and other off-street encroachments, a resolution approving the downtown lane reconfigurations and bike lanes, a resolution for new encroachment fees, and accompanying CEQA determinations for these projects. Staff recommends some program elements, as described below, be brought back to Council for formal action at a future meeting.

Background:

The City has long supported and encouraged outdoor dining on private and public property to supplement indoor operations. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and related heath orders, businesses were limited from operating indoors in varying degrees. Recognizing this hardship, City Council approved a program to allow expanded outdoor dining and other commercial activity. The City also suspended zoning and parking requirements to allow outdoor dining on private property and established a temporary encroachment permit program to allow encroachments into sidewalks, public streets, and Pier Plaza. Both the private property programs and encroachment program included a basic set of guidelines pertaining to hours of operation, permitted uses, maintenance, etc., collectively referred to hereafter as the Outdoor Permit Program.

The City issued over 60 permits during the term of the Outdoor Permit Program in a variety of commercial locations citywide including extended encroachments on Pier Plaza and encroachments into other public right-of-way areas. This included encroachment into on-street parking spaces, which had previously not been allowed in Hermosa Beach. These on-street encroachments, also known as “dining decks”, involved businesses constructing decks adjacent the business, accessible from the sidewalk, and with minimum required traffic barriers and other safety features. Initially, City Council allowed these uses without consideration of any encroachment area rents or reimbursement of lost parking meter revenue. In June 2021, Council approved extension of this pilot program through December 31, 2021 and authorized implementation of a reapplication process for outdoor encroachment areas that included renewal of permissions from neighboring businesses and requirement of deposits to pay for removal of the decks should the City need to do so.

At its December 14, 2021 meeting, Council approved an extension of the programs through May 31, 2022. At its January 25, 2022 meeting, Council discussed implementing new fees for the temporary outdoor dining encroachments and approved a fee of $1.50 per square foot per month to begin March 1, 2022.

Program revenues for the temporary encroachment areas were estimated to be approximately $400,000 annually, based on the number of areas in place at the time. At its February 8, 2022 meeting, Council also approved reinstatement of the encroachment fees for preexisting encroachment areas. These fees generate approximately $280,000 annually. At that meeting, Council also approved program refinements related to the use of temporary canopies, branded furniture, and enhanced maintenance.

Council subsequently extended the program in both May and November of 2022 with a final extension to May 1, 2023 and direction to staff to bring the permanent program for consideration.

Lane Reconfiguration

At the May 12, 2020 City Council meeting, City staff presented an item describing a concept to repurpose sections of public right-of-way to improve multimodal traffic safety and expand physical-distancing options for the public and businesses per Los Angeles County Health orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Doing so, additionally, worked to support many of the mobility goals described in PLAN Hermosa. The City Council moved quickly to accommodate these programs and staff developed guidelines based on information gathered from existing programs in other cities and internal review of policies and regulations.

City Council directed staff to work with the Economic Development Committee (EDC) to explore aspects of the program that could directly benefit local businesses. At meetings in August and September 2020, Council directed staff to move forward with designs of lane reconfiguration concepts for both Hermosa Avenue and Pier Avenue. These concepts included removing one through vehicle lane in each direction, addition of a bike lane, installation of new on-street accessible parking spaces, and associated signage and pavement markings. At the October 27, 2020 meeting, Council awarded a contract to perform the work. Work began in early January 2021 and was completed by January 16, 2021. At its July 13, 2021 meeting, Council approved a Resolution extending the Downtown Lane Reconfiguration Program through the end of 2021. At its May 24, 2022 meeting, Council approved an extension of the program through January 1, 2023 and, in November 2022, extended the program again till May 1, 2023.

Past Council Actions

Meeting Date	Description
June 9, 2020	Approved Ordinance 20-1410U allowing temporary permit program for outdoor dining in response to pandemic.
July 14, 2020	Directed staff to proceed with development of lane closure plans.
June 22, 2021	Approved extension of the outdoor permit program through December 31, 2021.
July 13, 2021	Approved Resolution authorizing extension of lane reconfigurations.
October 26, 2021	Approved development and implementation of permanent versions of these programs.
December 14, 2021	Approved development of permanent programs, and extension of temporary programs through May 2022
January 25, 2022	Discussion and approval of new fees for temporary encroachments
February 8, 2022	Approved reinstatement of existing fees for permanent encroachment areas
May 24, 2022	Approved extension of programs through January 2023
June 14, 2022	Approved additional refinements to the outdoor dining programs
November 3, 2022	Approved extension of temporary programs through May 1, 2023
January 24, 2023	Consideration market rate appraisal, temporary rooftop dining, and changes to Pier Plaza temporary encroachments
March 28, 2023	Considered a draft ordinance related to permanent outdoor dining and retail

Discussion:

As directed by Council at its October 26, 2021 meeting, staff developed the elements necessary to establish a permanent version of the Outdoor Dining Program and Downtown Lane Reconfiguration Program. These elements include:

1. An ordinance amending Hermosa Beach Municipal Code Chapter 12.16 to establish basic guidelines for a permanent outdoor dining and retail program.

2. A resolution establishing a new fee schedule for encroachments citywide.

3. A resolution permanently establishing the downtown lane reconfigurations and bike lanes.

4. A resolution amending operational and design guidelines for Pier Plaza.

5. A CEQA determination for the program elements.

6. A resolution adopting guidelines for operational and design standards for on-street dining decks.

These elements were considered and developed by a diverse team of City staff, representing all City departments. The City secured specialists to help with traffic counts and analysis, CEQA findings, traffic safety and on-street dining deck specifications, and market appraisal of encroachment areas. Staff gathered feedback from businesses, community members, other agencies, and an array of stakeholders since 2020. The Economic Development Committee meetings, along with numerous City Council meetings, have provided excellent feedback both from Councilmembers and the many people that have shared their views at these meetings. The Chamber of Commerce has been an essential partner in all these efforts, both sharing vital information with its members and gathering data through multiple surveys over the lifetime of the temporary outdoor dining program (Attachment 5).

The status of each of these elements, along with recommendations, is detailed below.

1. Ordinance: Staff worked with the City Attorney to identify the various code amendments in Chapter 12.16 necessary to establish permanent outdoor dining programs in the public right-of-way. Staff recommends creating a single program to regulate encroachments that were approved before the pandemic, as well as all temporary encroachments that may become permanent through this program. A single program would be easier for staff to implement and more coherent and efficient for the businesses and public. These modifications propose outdoor dining encroachments that would be allowed in certain public areas (Pier Plaza and the public rights-of-way such as sidewalks and parking spaces) and that encroachments for retail use would be allowed only on Pier Plaza. This would be accomplished via an encroachment permit subject to required findings by the City Manager or designee that must be renewed annually. Each possible type of encroachment (i.e., Pier Plaza, dining deck in a parking space, areas on the sidewalk) has its own operational standards and the City Manager would have the ability to promulgate regulations furthering the intent of the ordinance without contradicting it.

Additionally, these encroachment permits are not vested land use rights such as a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) or similar permit. Because the City is granting the use of public space for this private commercial activity, the City retains the ability to revoke the permit without cause. Importantly, the proposed regulations would require all applicants for an encroachment to be free of outstanding code violations or delinquent encroachment fee payments. Upon annual review, any applicant in violation would not be allowed an encroachment permit.

Contained in this draft Ordinance (Attachment 1) is language related to the regulation and administration of the encroachments, as mentioned above. Also included is language related to the maximum size and configuration of these encroachments. Informed in part by City Council’s discussion at the March 28, 2023 meeting, staff recommends:

• The option for businesses on Pier Plaza and other off-street encroachment areas to add up to 500 square feet of area with a not-to-exceed total area of 1,000 square feet. Pier Plaza encroachments would be limited to a maximum depth of twenty-five feet from the frontage, similar to the current temporary configuration (Attachment 6). This would allow many businesses to keep their entire temporary encroachment area created during COVID-19 pandemic. A few businesses would be required to reduce their temporary encroachments to meet this requirement but it also allows prior, permanent encroachments (such as Martha’s on 22^nd Street), to maintain its historic encroachment areas intact. A map of existing encroachment areas and a chart of their square footage is attached for reference (Attachment 7). Should all businesses choose to participate, the future encroachment areas would appear almost identical to the current layout with a few reducing in size from their current temporary encroachment areas.

On-street encroachment areas (“dining decks”) would maintain their current maximum size regulations of two parallel or three head-in parking spaces. Where the encroachment is entirely within the business frontage, these maximum areas are three parallel and four head-in parking spaces.

• Restricting encroachment areas on Pier Plaza to only the limits of the property’s frontage. This too would require a few businesses to reconfigure or reduce their temporary encroachments. Because of their unique location, Loreto Plaza encroachments could be allowed pending review and approval of the City Manager.

• Limit hours of operation on the encroachment areas to midnight for Pier Plaza, applied to the entire encroachment area, including both the historic “permanent” encroachments and any newly added encroachment area. On-street encroachments would continue to be limited to 11:00 P.M. closure. Encroachments adjacent residential properties or with other unique considerations, such as North End Bar and Grill, may be subject to alternative operational hours and conditions, per City review.

The more specific guidelines and operational standards for these different encroachments are recommended to be approved separately via resolutions including: one for encroachments on Pier Plaza, sidewalks, and off-street areas (Attachment 2) and another resolution for on-street encroachments, to be brought to Council at a later date.

2. New fee schedule for encroachments. In January of 2022, City Council approved establishing fees for temporary encroachments created during the pandemic. These fees were set at $1.50 per square foot per month. Additionally, Council approved reinstating prior encroachments fees per the schedule shown below:

Location and Operation Category	Fee per square foot per month
On Pier Plaza, open after midnight	$5
On Pier Plaza, closed before midnight	$2
Not on Pier Plaza; snack shop on Pier Plaza	$1

City staff analyzed many potential fee structures for these encroachments. This analysis includes surveys of other agencies in the region and extensive feedback from local businesses, including data from a recent survey performed by the Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, the City hired a third-party expert to perform a market rate appraisal of all pre-existing and temporary encroachment areas, which was considered by City Council in January 2023.

After careful analysis of this varied data, staff proposes a fee schedule (Attachment 4) that seeks to balance the City’s costs, the value to private businesses of using public right-of-way, and the need to establish a reasonable fee that would encourage utilization of the outdoor dining program. The following table illustrates the proposed fees and encroachment categories:

Location and Operation Category	Fee per square foot per month	Percent increase over current fees
On Pier Plaza, open after midnight, serving alcohol	$6	20 percent
On Pier Plaza, closed before midnight, serving alcohol	$3	50 percent
On-street, sidewalk, off-Pier Plaza, on Pier Plaza not serving alcohol, Pier Plaza retail	$2	100 percent for previous $1 fees. 33 percent for temporary $1.50 fees.

The proposed fees and categories reflect feedback from Council that current fees should be increased yet are proposed as modest increases which would encourage utilization of these encroachment areas, especially during this first year of the new permanent dining and retail program. For comparison, the market rates stated in the recent aforementioned appraisal report were as follows:

• Pier Plaza properties-$5.67 per square foot

• Hermosa Avenue properties (including off-street encroachments)-$4.83 per square foot

• Properties east of Hermosa Avenue (i.e., Pier Avenue)-$4 per square foot

The proposed rates are mostly lower than the appraisal’s market rates in part to avoid a sudden dramatic increase to program participants. Fees could be adjusted in phases moving forward to reach parity with market rates, should Council so choose. Staff estimates that these proposed fees would generate approximately $913,260 annually, 64 percent more revenue than the current revenue for all permanent and temporary encroachment area fees (Attachment 8).

Staff is also developing new application review fees for all encroachment types. These would factor in rates for City staff review time and will be brought back to Council soon for review and approval.

3. Downtown lane reconfigurations and bike lanes. Staff recommends Council adopt a resolution to make permanent the downtown lane reconfigurations, bike lanes, and lane closures implemented on a temporary basis beginning in 2020 (Attachment 3). Although the lane reconfigurations are technically separate from the outdoor dining program, the two programs are connected and, for CEQA purposes, were analyzed concurrently to determine overall environmental impact. The current on-street outdoor dining decks are made effective and desirable largely due to the presence of the lane reconfigurations. The bike lane not only provides a valuable option for multi-modal transportation, but primarily serves as a necessary buffer zone between the dining decks and vehicular traffic, improving both safety and comfort for dining patrons. The City’s traffic engineer affirms the necessity to maintain the buffer zone to improve both the safety of the dining decks and passing vehicles-for this reason, the prior four lane cross section is not compatible with the on-street dining decks (Attachment 9).

In addition, traffic counts performed each summer since 2020 have shown that the effect of the lane reconfigurations on traffic has been negligible (Attachment 10). Although a 32 percent increase in overall vehicular volume in the downtown area was observed between summers 2021 and 2022 (as volumes returned to pre-COVID levels), a five percent decrease in speeds was also measured along with increases of 33 percent and 26 percent in walking and biking activity, respectively.

4. Operational and design guidelines for Pier Plaza, sidewalks, and off-street encroachments. Staff recommends Council approve a resolution adopting amended guidelines for encroachments on Pier Plaza and other off-street public right-of-way areas (Attachment 2). These guidelines include more specific details on operational and design concerns such as application procedures, placement of furniture, accessibility and insurance requirements, maintenance and cleanliness minimums, etc. These are largely unchanged from the guidelines that have been in place since 2015 but do reflect the prohibition to queueing that was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.

5. CEQA determination. The City utilized a third-party CEQA specialist to analyze the proposed permanent programs and develop a report. The consultant analyzed separately the two projects:

A. The permanent Pier Plaza and other prior off-street encroachment program (“Pier Plaza Encroachment Program Modifications”); and

B. The permanent on-street outdoor dining and lane reconfigurations (“Outdoor Dining”).

Per the report (Attachment 3) the proposed projects are Categorically Exempt per the California Environmental Quality Act. The projects’ descriptions and exemption categories are each described below:

A. Pier Plaza Encroachment Program Modifications: the proposed project would modify the existing program that allows retail, eating, and drinking establishments to encroach onto the public right-of-way on Pier Plaza for the purpose of providing outdoor dining. The project would allow an increase of 4,200 square feet of outdoor dining in the public right-of-way on Pier Plaza. The City currently allows 5,700 square feet of outdoor dining on Pier Plaza, excluding additional areas allowed under the temporary ordinance. The project would thus result in a total allowable square footage of 9,900 on Pier Plaza.

Outdoor dining is currently allowed to extend up to 13 feet into the Plaza area along the entire length of the dining establishment’s frontage on Pier Plaza. The proposed project would allow dining areas to extend an additional 12 feet into Pier Plaza for a total of 25 feet. Under the proposed program, individual establishments would each be limited to a maximum of 1,000 square feet of outdoor dining (and in no case exceed 500 additional square feet beyond what they are allowed under the current Pier Plaza Encroachment Program.

Unlike the outdoor dining areas that would be allowed elsewhere, outdoor dining areas on Pier Plaza would not include dining decks or any permanent modifications within the public right-of-way, but would be limited to the temporary placement of tables, chairs, umbrellas, planters, and other elements that serve the allowed use. Canopies would not be allowed to extend beyond currently allowed outdoor dining areas and umbrellas would be removed at the end of business hours. All individual encroachment permits would be subject to the review and approval of the City Manager to ensure compliance with the modified program’s restrictions and guidelines, including avoidance of significant visual intrusion into the public view corridor to the open sky and ocean from Pier Plaza.

Environmental Determination:

The proposed project is Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act as defined in Section 15300 of the CEQA Guidelines, in accordance with Section 15061, the ‘common sense’ exemption, and Section 15301 which addresses minor alteration of existing public facilities, specifically:

15061(b)(3)-The project is covered by the common sense exemption that applies where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.

15301(c)-Existing highways and streets, sidewalks, gutters, bicycle and pedestrian trails, and similar facilities (this includes road grading for the purpose of public safety), and other alterations such as the addition of bicycle facilities, including but not limited to bicycle parking, bicycle-share facilities and bicycle lanes, transit improvements such as bus lanes, pedestrian crossings, street trees, and other similar alterations that do not create additional automobile lanes.

None of the exceptions to the Categorical Exemption apply, nor would the project result in a significant cumulative impact of successive projects of the same type in the same place over time or have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances or damage a scenic highway or scenic resources within a state scenic highway. The site is not located on a hazardous waste site and would not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource.

B. Outdoor Dining: the Outdoor Dining Program would enable commercial eating and drinking establishments located in specific areas of Hermosa Beach to use portions of City right-of-way for outdoor dining purposes. The proposed project consists of two components: (1) a Downtown Lane Reconfiguration Program that would establish permanent lane reconfigurations on Hermosa Avenue and Pier Avenue to create areas designated for outdoor dining and improve safety for multimodal traffic; and (2) an Outdoor Dining Permit Program that would create a permanent program to permit outdoor dining in specific areas.

Downtown Lane Reconfiguration Program

The attached resolution would establish long-term encroachments into sidewalks, travel lanes and on-street parking spaces along sections of Hermosa Avenue between 8^th and 14^th Streets (from the 800 block at 8^th Street to the 300 block at 14^th Street), at the intersection of Hermosa Avenue and Greenwich Village, and on Pier Avenue between Valley Drive and Hermosa Avenue (Attachment 3).

These lane reconfigurations exist today under the City’s Temporary Outdoor Dining Program and would be made permanent under the proposed project. On the designated segments of Hermosa Avenue and Pier Avenue, they would result in permanent closure of the northbound and southbound number two travel lanes (closest to the curb) and would be accompanied by addition of a permanent Class II bike lane in each direction, installation of new on-street ADA accessible parking spaces and associated signage and pavement markings. Approximately 7,000 linear feet of new Class II bike lanes would be made permanent within the former vehicle travel lanes. These lanes would be available for bicycles (electric and conventional) and other wheeled devices.

The permanent lane closure at the intersection of Hermosa Avenue and Greenwich Village would consist of closure of the right turn lane from westbound Greenwich Village to northbound Hermosa Avenue and a portion of Hermosa Avenue immediately adjacent to 2626 Hermosa Avenue.

Outdoor Permit Program

The project would establish an administrative permit process to allow outdoor dining at commercial eating and drinking establishments within Neighborhood Commercial (C1), Downtown Commercial (C2) and the Upper Pier Avenue Specific Plan Area (SPA 11) zones. The geographic extent of these areas is depicted in Exhibit 3 (Attachment 3). The proposed program is bound by limits:

A. The maximum square footage of total outdoor dining in all areas shown in Exhibit 3 must not exceed 9,500 square feet.

B. The maximum number of on-street public parking spaces that can be converted to permanent dining areas is 78 spaces. In addition to the overall limit of 78 spaces, the program would also limit the number of spaces converted to outdoor dining in each of the City’s three Coastal subzones to no more than 2 percent of the on-street parking in each zone. Per the City’s most recent parking inventory (City of Hermosa Beach, 2019), there are 3,969 total on-street parking spaces within the Coastal Zone, with 2,016 spaces in Zone 1, 1,183 in Zone 2, and 770 in Zone 3 (See Table 1 below and Exhibit 4). Applying the 2 percent limit, the maximum spaces available for outdoor dining in Zone 1 would be 40, 23 in Zone 2 and 15 spaces in Zone 3. At present, 35 on-street public spaces have been converted to outdoor dining areas and/or bike lanes through the City’s Temporary Lane Reconfiguration Program. These spaces would be able to retain their current configuration under the proposed project, along with the conversion of up to an additional 43 on-street spaces.

TABLE 1

PARKING SPACES AVAILABLE FOR OUTDOOR DINING USE

UNDER THE PROPOSED PROJECT

Parking Zone	Total On-Street Spaces	2 Percent	Spaces Currently Used for Outdoor Dining	Proposed Available Spaces Currently Not In Use
ZONE 1	2,016	40	2	38
ZONE 2	1,183	23	33	10
ZONE 3	770	15	0	15
TOTAL	3,969	78	35	43

C. Lane reconfigurations to accommodate outdoor dining are limited to the existing lane reconfigurations shown in the attachment.

D. The proposed program would be subject to additional restrictions. To be eligible for an outdoor dining permit, individual eating and dining establishments must not only be located in one of the three zones identified above (C1, C2 or SPA11); in addition, if the outdoor dining area is to be located in the public right-of-way that fronts a street, the street must have a speed limit of 25 miles per hour or less.

E. The proposed project also limits outdoor dining to locations that meet the following conditions.

1. The use does not obstruct access to public utilities and infrastructure for emergency or maintenance purposes.

2. All dining areas are in an area where all public services and facilities are available to allow for maximum development permissible in the General Plan.

3. The area in which individual dining areas will be located is not environmentally sensitive.

4. No individual dining area that significantly impacts an historical, cultural, or tribal resource will be permitted.

Under the proposed program, outdoor dining permit applications would be reviewed administratively by the City Manager or designee with the participation of the Public Works, Police, and Fire Departments. The proposed permanent Outdoor Permit Program includes a set of Guidelines and Conditions of Approval for individual projects permitted under the program, along with design guidelines for encroachment.

Environmental Determination:

The proposed project is Categorically Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act as defined in Section 15300 of the CEQA Guidelines, as follows.

The Lane Reconfiguration component of the project is exempt in accordance with Section 15301, which addresses minor alteration of existing public facilities; and Section 15304, which addresses minor alterations to public land. More specifically, the following two subcategories of exemption both apply.

15301(c)-existing highways and streets, sidewalks, gutters, bicycle and pedestrian trails, and similar facilities (this includes road grading for the purpose of public safety), and other alterations such as the addition of bicycle facilities, including but not limited to bicycle parking, bicycle-share facilities and bicycle lanes, transit improvements such as bus lanes, pedestrian crossings, street trees, and other similar alterations that do not create additional automobile lanes.

15304(h)-the creation of bicycle lanes on existing rights-of-way.

The Outdoor Dining component of the project is exempt in accordance with Section 15301, which address additions to existing structures and 15303, which addresses construction of limited numbers of new, small structures. More specifically, the following subcategory applies.

15301(e)-additions to existing structures, provided that the addition will not result in an increase of more than 10,000 square feet if:

A. The project is in an area where all public services and facilities are available to allow for maximum development permissible in the General Plan; and

B. The area in which the project is located is not environmentally sensitive.

15303(e)-construction of new small facilities or structures including accessory (appurtenant) structures including garages, carports, patios, swimming pools, and fences.

Though both projects are categorically exempt. The City conducted extensive analysis of the potential environmental effects of the on-street outdoor dining deck and lane reconfigurations to help support the determination. The effort included technical studies on traffic, noise, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy consumption impacts (Attachment 3). This was also done because the project is based on a relatively new, temporary program that did not exist before the COVID-19 pandemic, as opposed to the Pier Plaza encroachment program, which is simply a revision of an existing program.

6. Operational and design standards for on-street dining decks. Staff will finalize these standards and return to Council for review and approval at an upcoming meeting. The delay on these program elements would allow time to further refine and be coordinated with a phased implementation that would be more administratively efficient for the City and potential applicants. The proposed delay is also reflective of the still-evolving nature of on-street dining programs throughout the region, which has made difficult staff’s ability to gather definitive information on safety and construction.

The operation and design standard will include process guidelines for applicants, as well as aesthetic and operational parameters. Operational parameters will include essential traffic safety and structural specifications. Staff is working closely with a traffic engineer on these elements of the program. From a risk management standpoint, staff is consulting with California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (JPIA) on its guidelines regarding on-street dining decks and will incorporate these recommendations into the staff recommended standards. Additional time to develop these standards would ensure that staff has considered every aspect of the physical elements of the on-street dining deck program.

Next Steps

Staff recommends that these various program elements go into effect immediately, but also that Council authorize the City Manager to adjust implementation schedules as needed to ensure efficiency. As mentioned above, staff will return to Council soon for approval of the final design and operational guidelines for the on-street dining decks. Staff recommends that existing on-street decks be allowed to endure through the summer before reapplying for permits in fall. At that time, on-street decks would be required to submit official plans to be fully reviewed and vetted per the approved guidelines.

City staff has also met with Coastal Commission staff and established that a 5-year pilot program would be an effective approach to lead to a permanent program. The pilot program would include ongoing monitoring and assessment to document the project’s effect on parking and coastal access. This may also include testing a variety of programs and measures to ensure adequate coastal access is maintained during the pilot. Staff is currently working to develop acceptable measures to be incorporated into the program that would satisfy the criteria for the Coastal Development Permit.

General Plan Consistency:

The proposed program options match the model of “living streets”, also known as “complete streets”, which supports a key guiding principle of the General Plan Vision, of fostering a vibrant local economy. A living street combines safety and livability while supporting ground floor and outdoor economic activities. This centers on designing streets that can be safely shared by both vehicular and non-vehicular traffic. A living street should also contribute to an engaging public realm and a vibrant local economy.

Relevant Goals and Policies are listed below:

Governance Element

Goal 6. A broad-based and long-term economic development strategy for Hermosa Beach that supports existing businesses while attracting new business and tourism.

Policies:

• 6.4 Business support. Support the Chamber of Commerce, retailers, tourist service businesses, artists, and other agencies to develop an aggressive marketing strategy with implementation procedures.

• 6.6 Pop-up shops. Develop plans and programs for underutilized spaces, such as vacant buildings, utility corridors, parkways, etc., for temporary retail, restaurant, and community promoting uses.

Mobility Element

Goal 1. Complete Streets (Living Streets) that serve the diverse functions of mobility, commerce, recreation, and community engagement for all users whether they travel by walking, bicycling, transit, or driving.

Policy:

• 1.1 Consider all modes. Require the planning, design, and construction of all new and existing transportation projects to consider the needs of all modes of travel to create safe, livable and inviting environments for all users of the system.

Goal 7. A transportation system that results in zero transportation-related fatalities and which minimizes injuries.

Policy:

• 7.1 Safe public rights-of-way. Encourage that all public rights-of-way are for all users at all times of day where users of all ages and ability feel comfortable participating in both motorized and non-motorized travel.

Fiscal Impact:

The Capital Improvement Fund includes $60,000 appropriated for the CEQA specialist to perform the CEQA analysis and an additional $60,000 was appropriated to fund additional traffic and parking analysis to support this work. Funds for ongoing annual traffic and parking analysis will be appropriated in the FY 2023-24 Budget.

The proposed encroachment fees are estimated to generate approximately $913,260 in revenue annually, an approximate 64 percent increase over current encroachment fee revenues for continuing encroachments.

Staff will return to Council at a later date to establish application review fees and provide revenue estimates at that time.