The Planning Commission met for their first meeting of the year on January 9, 2013. They reviewed and approved the following proposals:
127 West Foothill Boulevard – New drive through mini market. If you’re not looking, you might not notice that super cool, old filling station on the corner of Foothill and Stedman. We’re not sure if it was the first gas station in town, but it was probably built in the 1920’s. Unfortunately it’s been vacant for several years and while it will probably never return to its original use, it’s nice to see the building repurposed.
The new drive through mini market will offer snacks, drinks and tobacco products. Generally, this type of business falls under a retail classification, however, since it also includes a drive-through and the property is within 100 feet of residential zones it required (and received) approval of a conditional use permit by the Planning Commission. This allows the Commission to place conditions on the use to make sure that the use does not cause problems for the neighborhood.
By the way, if anybody has any old pictures of this building (or any other older buildings), we’d love to get a copy.
1999 South Myrtle Avenue – New microbrewery with a tasting room. The craft beer trend is coming to Monrovia. Over the past few months, City Staff has met with several potential brewers looking to make Monrovia their home; Pacific Plate Brewing Company is the first out of the gate. Brewing beer is a manufacturing use and would be permitted by right in industrial zones, however, since the beer produced by microbreweries is generally intended for a local or regional market, a tasting room is usually an integral part of their operation. This triggered the need for a conditional use permit.
Pacific Plate Brewing Company will be locating in the south end of town in a small industrial complex, brewing will take place during the typical daytime hours. Their tasting room will be open to the public in the evening.
Commissioner Thomas summed it up perfectly describing the new use as “cool” and “hip”. We couldn’t agree more.
