75A - PH KARA GRANT APPEAL - Laserfiche WebLink

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1. The Car Wash Project Will Not Provide a Service or Facility that Will Contribute to the General Well Being of the Neighborhood/Community. The Council should deny the CUP if the proposed use would be detrimental to the general welfare or have undesirable effects in the community. (Harris v. City of Costa Mesa (1994) 25 Cal.App.4th 963, 973; Tustin Heights Assn v. Board of Supervisors (1959) 170 Cal.App.2d 619, 626.) In Harris v. City of Costa Mesa, the Court of Appeal described the "public welfare" standard as follows: "`The concept of the public welfare is broad and inclusive. [citations omitted]. The values it represents are spiritual as well as physical, aesthetic as well as monetary. It is within the power of the legislature to determine that the community should be beautiful as well as healthy, spacious as well as clean, well-balanced as well as carefully patrolled.' [Citations.]" (Id. at p. 741.) Similarly, in Guinnane v. San Francisco City Planning Com. (1989) 209 Cal.App.3d 732, the Court of Appeal rejected the petitioner's contention that "... the commission's decision [was] unsupported by the findings [ ] based on the argument that the findings relate[d] exclusively to the private concerns of the neighbors (traffic, parking and visual impact) rather than the requisite public concerns of health, safety and welfare." The Court found this argument specious, and explained that "[w]hile parking, traffic and visual impact were problems expressed by some of the neighbors, clearly they represent concerns that fall well within the domain of the public interest and welfare. [Citations.]" (Id. at p. 743.) Santa Ana currently has at least 22 car washes, including the small gas station model car wash currently in operation on 325 N. Tustin Avenue. Attached as Exhibit A is a list of car washes within the City of Santa Ana and their respective distances to the Project. There are 3 more car washes located within 1 mile of the Project in the City of Tustin. In fact, the Tustin Bay Wash is located on the very same block as the proposed Russell Fischer Car Wash Project, and the Mobile Express Wash located on Irvine Blvd., is only about 1,000 feet from the Car Wash Project. Moreover, there are 13 mobile car wash facilities in Santa Ana in addition to the 22 car washes, which bring the total existing car wash facilities in Santa Ana to 35. (See Exhibit A.) To further illustrate how oversaturated the car wash use is in Santa Ana, there are only 13 Starbucks in in the entire City, and at that it feels like they are on every corner. Clearly, the car wash service is already amply provided to the community. There is no need to trade the small gas station car wash at 325 N. Tustin for a massive standalone car wash facility at 301 N. Tustin Avenue, as proposed by the Russell Fischer Car Wash Project. Doing so will not contribute any new or needed service or facility to the community. In contrast, the project currently approved for 301 and 325 N. Tustin Avenue —the retail center with drive thm restaurant —would provide new services and facilities to the neighborhood and community. Moreover, that location is a gateway to the City of Santa Ana from the freeway. It would be infinitely more appealing, welcoming and desirable to have a 75A-15