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CUP No. 2016 -13 Variance No. 2016 -03 May J, 2016 Page 5 Finally, banquet halls generate large groups of patrons who congregate before and after events. Because of the site's design and the location of the banquet facility, groups that congregate before and after events generate additional negative impacts to the surrounding community. These impacts often include trash and dumping; noise, and loitering during late hours after banquet events. Because the site is insufficiently parked, these impacts occur both at the project site and on surrounding streets in residential areas. Building Code and Life Safes Issues Significant upgrades are required to the site and subject tenant space, Unit M, to accommodate the proposed banquet facility. To implement these upgrades, the project will require substantial investments in fire and life safety equipment such as alarms and the existing sprinklers, additional fire -rated wall separations between units, and possibly new emergency exits to meet the latest requirements of the California Building Code. The changes to the building will require significant investment resulting in major alterations to the building. In addition, a new grease interceptor will need to be installed to prevent fats, oils, and grease from entering the City's sewer system. Depending on the occupant load and capacity of the fire sprinklers, the subject location could require additional emergency exits that would allow evacuation to the rear of the property adjacent to single- family neighborhood. Moreover, the installation of necessary alarms would exacerbate noise impacts to the surrounding community in the event of an emergency or mass evacuation. These building - related improvements will degrade the quality of life for residents in the area if the banquet facility were to operate even with the required permits. Variance No. 2016 -03 (Parking) Variance requests are governed by Section 41 -638 of the SAMC. Variance requests may be granted when it can be shown that there exists a special circumstance related to the property, such as size, shape, topography, location or surroundings; that the granting of the variance is necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of substantial property rights; that the granting of the variance will not be detrimental to the public or surrounding property; and that the granting of the variance will not adversely affect the General Plan. Because all of these findings cannot be made for the subject application, staff recommends denial of the variance application. The integrated development site at which the banquet facility currently operates contains 231 parking spaces. Pursuant to the off - street parking standards in the SAMC, the site is already deficient by 57 parking spaces given the current tenant mix at the center, which includes three restaurants and a mixture of office, service, and retail tenants. Although one of the tenant suites currently contains a tax preparation service that is seasonal in nature, the parking requirements are equal to those of a year -round service /retail use in case another service /retail business were to occupy the tenant suite in the future. If the banquet facility CUP were approved at the subject site, 491 parking spaces would be required to meet the demands of the existing tenants and the banquet facility, resulting in a parking deficiency of 260Syrl5ing� paces