The Planning Commission held their second meeting of the year on February 13, 2013. If meetings had themes, this one would have fallen under the category “eat, drink and be merry”. In addition to welcoming back Commissioner Spicer after serving as an interim member of the City Council, the Commission had five scheduled public hearings. Albeit, one application for a proposed microbrewery at 130 East Walnut Avenue was withdrawn by the applicant. However, the Planning Staff has been in discussion with the brewmaster who is looking for another suitable location in town. Stay tuned.
The Commission worked efficiently through the next four hearings, each of which were approved subject to their conditions of approval:
929 West Huntington Drive – Expand service of alcoholic beverages at an existing restaurant from beer and wine to full alcohol. Oto Oto Izakaya Japonaise has been located at Huntington Crossing for a couple of years now and requested an amendment to their CUP to expand from beer and wine to also include distilled spirits. Oto Oto has been a great addition to Monrovia’s restaurant row, their jalapeno yellowtail has been known to turn a non-sushi eater into a believer.
1602 South Myrtle Avenue – Expand an existing service station and construct a new light automotive repair building. Remember when there used to be a service station on every corner? Well, for many reasons they are disappearing from the urban landscape leaving vacant corners all over the region. So we were pleased when the owners of the Union 76 service station told us about their plans to improve and expand their property. The station was originally built in 1967 and has gone through several modifications over the years. This proposal will expand the existing convenience store and construct a new three bay automotive repair facility. The plans also include a major renovation of the existing building and site with additional landscaping which will give the site a fresh look. The Planning Commission agreed that this will be a positive addition for South Myrtle.
500 West Huntington Drive – Expand service of alcoholic beverages at an existing restaurant from beer and wine to full alcohol. Sound familiar? Same request, different restaurant. Mimi’s Café was one of the original tenants in the Huntington Oaks Shopping Center. Since their opening in 1985, they have offered beer and wine to their patrons. As part of a return to their “French roots”, Mimi’s Café is upgrading their beverage offerings to include a full range of alcoholic beverages. Just keep bringing those bran muffins our way and we’ll be happy.
602 West Huntington Drive – Permit indoor and outdoor service of beer and wine at a new fast food restaurant. Food, drinks, outdoors…what a great concept. And speaking of great concepts, we are excited about Smashburger coming to Monrovia. Currently, the only other L.A. County location is way out on the Westside in Culver City. Smashburger will be one of four new restaurants in the new building that will take the place of Acapulco.
Closing out the meeting, Community Development Director Steve Sizemore gave a status update of the Plan Monrovia process.
Lots of good things coming Monrovia’s way…subscribe.
