Expansion plans for Costa Mesa bar in problem parking area uncorked by council

A Costa Mesa bar and restaurant seeking to expand its footprint and offerings under the city’s outdoor dining ordinance — whose owners have faced multiple challenges despite meeting the letter of the law — got final approval from city leaders Tuesday.

Proprietors of Westend, an arts-focused establishment located at 814 West 19th St., aim to build out a back patio into a 720-square-foot dining area with a bar and space for live entertainment and to extend their hours until 2 a.m. nightly.

While such a move would eliminate two of the Westend’s three parking spaces, post-pandemic city laws allow for the expansion of outdoor dining, even when it eliminates parking. The state’s AB 2097 goes further, prohibiting cities from implementing parking requirements on projects in transit-rich areas.

To help ease parking concerns, owners of the bar and restaurant secured an agreement with a nearby business for the use of 17 parking spaces on another lot behind the Westend. The proposal was approved on May 28 by city zoning administrator Scott Drapkin.

But historic noise and traffic complaints from residents on nearby Federal Way and business owners of the Vista Center — which maintains a large retail parking lot directly across 19th Street from the Westend — inspired one City Council member to essentially appeal the project twice.

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Costa Mesa OKs expansion, outdoor dining at 19th Street bar

Commissioners approved extending the hours of the Westend bar and restaurant until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, allowing live music and alcohol sales on an outdoor patio, despite protests against potential noise and parking impacts.

Oct. 17, 2024

Former District 1 Councilman Don Harper, whose term ended in December, submitted a request May 30 to have the Costa Mesa Planning Commission review the application anew in a public hearing.

Commissioners considered the matter during an Oct. 14 meeting, opting to approve the expansion on a trial basis and reconvene for a six-month review. They limited the 2 a.m. closing time to Fridays and Saturdays only.

Less than one week later, Harper submitted a request to have the Planning Commission’s approval considered by the Costa Mesa City Council, which would have final approval.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Westend’s operating manager and partner Kayleigh Brunner said owners had secured an additional 17 off-site parking spots in an effort to be good neighbors.

“Westend is more than just a restaurant and bar,” she said. “Our passion and our roots are tied deeply into our community, the very essence of Costa Mesa, the City of the Arts.”

After listening to a handful of comments both for and against the proposal, Mayor John Stephens made a motion to uphold the Planning Commission’s Oct. 14 approval but to remove the six-month review period and the condition that live entertainment be capped at 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays.

Stephens requested the applicant provide an on-site cellphone contact that neighbors could relay noise or traffic complaints to in real time. Otherwise, he said, the commissioners’ conditions were too constrictive on a business that’s already waited several months to move forward with plans already approved by the city’s zoning administrator.

“I think our staff and our Planning Commission have better things to do than to micromanage a small business,” he said. “They’ve served their time.”

Other council members expressed confidence that any issues that arose could be handled through enforcement of the city’s noise ordinance or by its code enforcement team.

But Councilwoman Andrea Marr took a different view, stating that while she supported small businesses, she didn’t see why Westend should be granted more allowances than surrounding bars and restaurants that do not have outdoor music or serve alcohol so late.

“It’s not actually as easy to put the genie back in the bottle,” she said. “I’d rather not go down that path and be slightly more in conformance with some of the surrounding businesses. Even [nearby bar] the Wayfarer doesn’t go until 2 o’clock in the morning on a Monday night, and they’re indoors.”

Marr proposed a substitute motion, capping live entertainment until midnight, but she found no supporters. Mayor Pro Tem Chavez said he supported the original administrative approval offered in the city’s outdoor dining ordinance.

“My goal is that everything that’s routine and allowed by ordinance or law is approved in this manner,” he said. “Any way we can be more efficient we should be. Every day we’re not moving quickly on something is a day a business can’t make revenue.”

Stephens’ original motion passed 6-1, with Marr opposed.