Glendale Coffee (ENV-2024-4811-CE)
Summary
SCH Number
2024120097
Public Agency
City of Los Angeles
Document Title
Glendale Coffee (ENV-2024-4811-CE)
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
12/4/2024
Document Description
The subject site is currently developed with an existing mixed-use building located at 158 N. Glendale Boulevard, in between Colton Street and Rockwood Street. The subject site is rectangularly-shaped and is comprised of three contiguous lots with approximately 13,800 square feet of lot area. The site was developed in 1922 with a two-story commercial building and surface
parking lot. On March 23, 2020, case no. DIR-2019-2761-SPP entitled the project for a Change of Use for the existing 17,600 square-foot commercial storage building to an office building with
a café and retail on the ground floor, and one (1) 849 square-foot live/work dwelling unit. Currently, the two-story building is utilized as an office building and surface parking lot with one (1) live/work
dwelling unit. However, the retail and café uses were never developed. The space for the proposed café is currently developed as vacant office space.
The subject site is located within the Central City West Specific Plan (CCWSP), within the North Subarea’s Temple/Beaudry Neighborhood District. The CCWSP designates the site with the
RC4(CW)-U/3.7-O zone. The “U” in the zoning string restricts the height to 1,218 feet above mean sea level. The “3.7” in the zoning string restricts the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) to 3.7:1. The “O” in
the zoning string indicates that the property is located within an Oil Drilling District. Additionally, the site is located within the Westlake Community Plan, which designates the site for Highway Oriented Commercial – High Medium Residential land uses. The subject site is also located within a State Enterprise Zone (ZI-2374), Transit Priority Area (ZI-2452), Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone, Methane Zone, BOE Special Grading Area (Basic Grids Mao A-13372) and is within 1.32 km of the Puente Hills Blind Thrust Fault.
The proposed project involves a change of use for 980 square feet of ground-floor office space to a coffee shop in an existing office building. No new floor area will be added, and proposed construction includes a new trash enclosure in the southwest corner of the lot in addition to minor interior alterations.
NAME OF APPLICANT / OWNER:
158 Glendale Owner LLC
Contact Information
Name
Marie Pichay
Agency Name
City of Los Angeles, City Planning Department
Job Title
City Planning Associate
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Name
Jennifer Levesque
Agency Name
Twinsteps Architecture
Job Title
Representative
Contact Types
Parties Undertaking Project
Phone
Location
Cities
Los Angeles
Counties
Los Angeles
Regions
Southern California
Zip
90026
Other Location Info
PROJECT LOCATION
158-160 N. Glendale Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90026
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Section 15301 / Class 1
Reasons for Exemption
Class 1 CEQA Categorical Exemption consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing or public or private structures, facilities,
mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use, including but not limited to:
(a) Interior or exterior alterations involving such things as interior partitions, plumbing, and electrical conveyances.
The project is for a change of use from existing office space to a coffee shop with no floor area being added, along with a new exterior trash enclosure and minor interior alterations. The change
of use involves negligible expansion of an existing use in an existing structure. Therefore, the project qualifies for a Class 1(a) Categorical Exemption.
There are five (5) Exceptions which the City is required to consider before finding a project exempt under Section 15332: (a) Cumulative Impacts; (b) Significant Effect; (c) Scenic Highways; (d)
Hazardous Waste Sites; and (e)Historical Resources.
There is not a succession of known projects of the same type and in the same place as the proposed project. As mentioned, the project includes the change of use from office space to a coffee shop for approximately 980 square feet of ground-floor floor area, in addition to a new exterior trash enclosure and minor interior construction. Staff conducted a ZIMAS Case Number Report using a 500-foot radius to assess the number of the same type of projects in the same place. At the time of writing this staff report, the ZIMAS Case Number Report there were no other cumulative projects within the last 10 years of the same type within a 500-foot radius.
All adjacent lots are developed with a mix of residential, commercial, and institutional uses, and the subject site is of a similar size and slope to nearby properties. The existing building was developed in 1922 as a two-story commercial building and surface parking lot and has since been operating as a 17,600 square-foot commercial storage building to an office building and one (1) 849 square-foot live/work dwelling unit. This use is not unusual for the vicinity of the subject site; thus, there are no unusual circumstances which may lead to a significant effect on the environment, and this exception does not apply.
Additionally, the only State Scenic Highway within the City of Los Angeles is the Topanga Canyon State Scenic Highway, State Route 27, which travels through a portion of Topanga State Park.
The proposed project is located approximately 27.2 miles southeast from State Route 27. Therefore, the project site will not result in any damage to any scenic resources, including but not limited to, trees, historic buildings, rock, outcropping or similar resources, within a highway officially designated as a state scenic highway, and this exception does not apply.
Furthermore, according to Envirostor, the State of California’s database of Hazardous Waste Sites, neither the project site, nor any site in the vicinity, is identified as a hazardous waste site. Furthermore, the building permit history for the project site does not indicate the site may be hazardous or otherwise contaminated. Therefore, this exception does not apply.
Lastly, the project site has not been identified as a historic resource by local or state agencies, and the project site has not been determined to be eligible for listing in the National Register of
Historic Places, California Register of Historical Resources, the Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Register, and/or any local register; and was not found to be a potential historic
resource based on the City’s HistoricPlacesLA website or SurveyLA, the citywide survey of Los Angeles. Based on this, the project will not result in a substantial adverse change to the significance of a historic resource and this exception does not apply.
County Clerk
Los Angeles
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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