Project Title:
New Outdoor Dining Area for the Stone Valley Shopping Center - Land Use Permit, Development Plan, and Parking Variance
County File(s):
CDLP25-02021
Applicant/Owner:
Daniel Hoy / John Lineweaver
Zoning/General Plan:
Retail Business (R-B) / Mixed-Use Community-Alamo (MUC)
Site Address/Location:
3160 Danville Boulevard, Suite 3160 A, Alamo (APN: 192-071-064)
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Status:
Categorical Exemption, Class 3: CEQA Guidelines Section 15303(e) - Construction of accessory structures
Project Planner:
Dominique Vogelpohl, Senior Planner (925) 655-2880
Dominique.Vogelpohl@dcd.cccounty.us
Staff Recommendation:
Approve (See Section II for Full Recommendation)
I. PROJECT SUMMARY
A Land Use Permit and Development Plan for a new outdoor dining area for an existing restaurant tenant space in the Stone Valley shopping center to be located in the parking lot, and a request for a Variance to the amount of parking spaces required to allow the removal of four spaces.
II. RECOMMENDATION
The Department of Conservation and Development, Community Development Division (CDD) staff recommends that the County Zoning Administrator:
A. APPROVE the Land Use Permit/Development Plan combination and parking Variance (County File #CDLP25-02021), based on the attached findings and subject to the attached conditions of approval;
B. DETERMINE that the proposed project is categorically exempt from CEQA under Section 15303(e) of the CEQA Guidelines; and
C. DIRECT staff to file a Notice of Exemption.
III. GENERAL INFORMATION
A. General Plan: The subject property is located within a Mixed-Use Community-Alamo (MUC) land use designation.
B. Zoning: The subject property is located within a Retail Business (R-B) District.
C. Environmental Review: The project is categorically exempt from the review requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per section 15303(e), which exempts construction of accessory structures including garages, carports, patios, swimming pools, and fences. A platform and covered patio structure for an outdoor dining area, and parking lot modifications, fall within this category of an accessory structure, and therefore, meet the criteria of this categorical exemption.
D. Previous Applications:
1. LP15-2001: A land use permit to establish a veterinary hospital.
2. RZ14-3227: A rezoning application which designated the subject property from Planned Neighborhood Business District to Retail Business District. The application was approved by the Board of Supervisors on January 13, 2015.
3. DP95-3002: A development plan application which allowed the construction and operation of an "Espresso To Go" drive through hut within the parking lot of the subject shopping center.
4. LP93-2048: A land use permit that allowed "take-out" food for several tenant spaces within the shopping center.
5. DP3019-85: A development plan that allowed the expansion of two buildings at the subject site.
6. DP82-3064: A development plan that allowed the renovation of the subject shopping center.
7. 546-66: A land use permit that allowed Safeway to establish a retail store at the subject site. The space Safeway occupied has changed tenants and is currently leased by CVS Pharmacy.
IV. SITE/AREA DESCRIPTION
The subject site is located at the northeast corner of the Stone Valley Road/Danville Boulevard intersection in Alamo. The combined property consists of three parcels, Assessor's parcel numbers: 1) 192-081-004=3.49 acres, 2) 192-071-064=2.12 acres and 3) 192-071-030=0.57 acres. All three parcels are developed with the Stone Valley Center's retail shops and parking, with the exception of parcel 1 which contains a significant flood drainage channel. Parcels in the vicinity range in size from 0.1-acre to over 13 acres and tend to be developed with retail business and/or residential uses. The site is surrounded by properties zoned Planned Unit District (housing), Retail Business District, and R-20 Single-Family Residential District. The area is characterized by smaller office buildings and shops along Danville Boulevard while being surrounded by residential properties along the periphery. As this portion of Alamo is generally flat, the vast majority of land has been developed leaving few if any remaining locations vacant.
V. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The project is for a Land Use Permit and Development Plan combination to establish an outdoor seating area for a restaurant that will be in suite 3160 A of the Stone Valley shopping center. The outdoor dining area will be located in the parking lot in front of the restaurant, taking up four parking spaces, including one ADA space. The structure is shown to be metal framed with fabric material for the canopy and surrounded by planter boxes. The area is to be raised on a platform so it will be level with the adjacent walkway. There will be tables and chairs that can seat 92 people.
The project includes a request for approval of a Variance to allow for 205 parking spaces where 282 spaces is the required minimum due to the removal of 4 spaces and the increase in restaurant seating. Staff is recommending the project be conditioned to include speed bumps approaching the dining area and to replace the ADA parking space that is one of the four to be removed.
VI. AGENCY COMMENTS
A. Alamo Municipal Advisory Council (MAC): In a memo dated September 3, 2025, the MAC stated they recommended approval of the project at their September 2, 2025 meeting, with the recommendations to require the patio dining surface be at the same level as the adjacent walkway, a curb at the edge of the patio area, barriers between the dining patio and the adjacent driveway, no obstructions to the existing walkway, and speed bumps to be installed in the main access routes leading to the dining patio.
Staff has incorporated the MAC's recommendations as conditions of approval for this entitlement.
B. Alamo Improvement Association (AIA): In a memo dated August 25, 2015, the AIA stated they recommended approval of the project at their August 21, 2025 meeting, with the same recommendations as the MAC.
C. Contra Costa County Public Works Department, Engineering Services Division: Engineering Services staff indicated in a memo dated August 8, 2025, that they did not have any comments for this project.
D. Contra Costa Health Services, Environmental Health Division (CCEHD): In a memo dated August 12, 2025, CCEHD stated that the project sponsor must obtain a health permit from CCEHD prior to construction and operation.
E. San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District: In a memo dated August 25, 2025, the Fire Protection District stated that the project sponsor must obtain a permit from the Fire Protection District prior to construction and operation.
F. East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD): In an email dated August 7, 2025, EBMUD stated they did not have any comments for this project.
G. Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (Central San): In a memo dated August 28, 2025, Central San stated that the project sponsor must obtain approval from Central San prior to construction and operation.
All received agency comments are attached to this staff report.
VII. STAFF ANALYSIS
A. Appropriateness of Use: The Alamo MAC and AIA find the addition of an outdoor dining area to be a positive addition to downtown Alamo and the Stone Valley shopping center. The proposed patio area is compatible with the shopping center. The project parking study prepared by the project architect, Daniell Hoy, dated August 5, 2025, (attached to this staff report) states that the shopping center will not be impacted by the loss of parking.
B. Consistency with General Plan: The shopping center and project site is located in a mixed-use designated area. The Mixed-Use, Community - Alamo (MUC) designation allows for various housing types, along with a wide range of neighborhood- and community-serving retail, personal service, office, hospitality, entertainment, and public uses. The existing tenant space was a restaurant, and a new restaurant is to move into this space, and the project is to provide an outdoor dining area for this new restaurant. An outdoor dining area is an accessory use to a restaurant, and a restaurant is a consistent use with the MUC designation. Therefore, the proposed project is found to be consistent with the MUC land use designation.
C. Zoning Compliance: The shopping center and project is located within a Retail-Business (R-B) zoning district. The R-B district is intended to allow sales, demonstrations, displays, services, and other retail business that is conducted within an enclosed building. A commercial restaurant is considered a service business and therefore meets the intent and purpose of the R-B district. The outdoor dining area on a platform and covered by a shade structure is considered an acceptable accessory use to this business type. The R-B zoning district allows for business activities to be conducted outside of the enclosed building under County Code Section 84-52.404, Uses - Requiring a Land Use Permit (10) if certain findings can be made. Further review of the proposed project's compliance with the required Land Use Permit Findings is discussed in the Land Use Permit Findings section attached to this staff report. Therefore, staff finds the expansion to the outdoor activities for this restaurant consistent with the R-B Zoning district.
The shade structure, and platform recommended by the MAC and AIA, are also subject to the R-B Development Standards and as such requires approval of a Development Plan. The structure meets the required yards and height restrictions of the R-B district. The maximum height will be approximately 30-feet (where 50-feet is the maximum permitted). There are not minimum side or rear yards in R-B, and the structure more than meets the required 10-foot frontage setback requirement as it is located at the rear of the shopping center. Therefore, staff recommends approval of a Development Plan for a covered patio structure located in R-B.
D. Off-Street Parking: The off-street parking ordinance requires that adequate off-street parking is provided at each location given the specific use proposed. According to the project parking study, the shopping center is comprised of 14 tenant spaces and one coffee kiosk, which totals 40,991 square-feet of floor area. Per County Code Section 82-16.406 Required Number of parking Spaces, the CVS Pharmacy would fall under grocery store which requires 1 parking space for every 200 square-feet of floor area, the veterinary hospital would fall under hospital which requires 1 space for every 2 beds, the fast food/restaurants would fall under restaurants which require 1 space for every 100 square-feet, the remaining tenants would fall under retail which requires 1 space for every 300 square-feet, and the proposed outdoor dining area shows 92 seats which requires 1 space for every 3 seats. Therefore, the CVS requires a minimum of 80 parking spaces, the veterinary hospital requires 3 spaces, the restaurants require 132 spaces, the retail stores require 36 spaces, and the outdoor dining area requires 31 spaces, totaling 282 spaces. The study states the existing parking lot has 209 spaces, which is already at variance with a deficiency of 42 spaces. The proposed project requires the removal of 4 spaces, creating a request for the number of parking spaces to be 205 spaces where 282 is required.
According to parking study, the onsite parking survey was conducted between
12:00-1:00 p.m. and 5:00-6:00 p.m. The onsite parking survey indicated that there are many unoccupied parking spaces during some of the peak retail and restaurant demand periods. Staff is adopting the recommendations of the MAC and AIA by conditioning the project to include speed bumps. Therefore, staff recommends approval for the parking variance to allow 205 parking spaces where 282 is required, which is expanded on in the attached Off-Street Parking Variance Findings section of this staff report.
VIII. CONCLUSION
The proposed project with the recommendations of the Alamo MAC and AIA is found to be consistent with the County General Plan Mixed-Use, Community-Alamo (MUC) land use designation and the Retail Business (R-B) Zoning District. Therefore, staff is recommending approval of County File #CDLP25-02021, based on the attached findings and subject to the attached conditions of approval.