Over Concentration of Alcohol Establishments in Downtown At Issue…Again

During the Tuesday night planning commission meeting on May 13, 2014, the commission spent several hours hearing testimony and debating the merits of an application to open a new restaurant and bar in downtown Campbell.

Steven Bonner, the owner for the proposed restaurant called “Socialight,” was seeking to obtain a conditional use permit to operate a new restaurant with a bar and live entertainment during late night hours.  He wanted to open the restaurant at 368 E. Campbell Avenue that was the site of the former OM Gallery and Green Planet Yarn.

Mr. Bonner needed to seek a conditional use permit only because his plan called for a separate bar area and hours of operation beyond 11:00 p.m.

In order to approve the permit, the planning commission needed to make two key determinations:

1)  that the project was consistent with Campbell's General Plan and the Downtown Campbell Development Plan and

2) they could identify special findings that the use would not result in the following: 

• the potential over concentration of similar alcohol establishments in the surrounding area,

• the potential to create a nuisance or disturb the neighborhood, and

• the potential to increase demand on city services (see city’s staff report).

During public testimony, I provided the commission with data illustrating the current mix of uses in both the downtown area as a whole and for the specific block where the restaurant would be located (see picture 1).  As it currently stands, alcohol service establishments (restaurants, bars and wine bars) are the largest use segment and growing.  The downtown is well on its way to being “alcohol alley.” 

To better understand how Campbell compares with other cities, I did a similar survey of 2 other downtown areas – Los Gatos and Los Altos (see picture 2).  The contrast with Campbell is startling.  Where Campbell has alcohol serving establishments as the majority, those uses in Los Gatos and Los Altos constitute only 18% and 14% of their downtown businesses respectively.  Campbell is clearly an outlier on this issue. 

Based on the current data, I believe it is difficult to arrive at a conclusion other than:

• The current uses in the downtown are unbalanced and do not represent a vibrant and healthy mix as envisioned by the General Plan and Downtown Campbell Development Plan 

• Additional alcohol service establishments (like the Socialight) will result in an ongoing over concentration of such uses. 

Former planning commission Liz Gibbons also provided testimony on the impact of converting existing retail spaces into alcohol service establishments.  She highlighted that in order for retail businesses to succeed they need to have complementary retail uses and a certain amount of critical mass.  As retail stores are converted, it takes away from the long term viability of the remaining stores.  Ms. Gibbons also provided a diagram that graphically showed where the 25 alcohol service establishments exist today (see picture 3). 

In the end, the planning commission was not able to successfully pass a motion to either approve or deny the application.  Multiple attempts were made to pass a motion by modifying the application to exclude a separate bar and adjust the hours of operation but the motions did not receive enough votes.

In some respects, the motions were a symbolic gesture to show a willingness to try to find a workable solution for the applicant.  When asked point blank whether Mr. Bonner would be amenable to operating a restaurant without a bar, he emphatically stated, “No.” 

Since the application was not approved by the planning commission, it can be appealed to the city council within 10 days. 

It’s a good bet that Mr. Bonner may seek to appeal to the city council.  Stay tuned.