Creative parking paves way for 3 new restaurants

The Costa Mesa Planning Commission approved plans Monday for a new building in the Eastside that will include space for three new restaurants.

The 4-0 vote, with Commissioner Jeff Mathews absent, paves the way for 350 E. 17th Street — a two-story, 15,185-square-foot 1960s-era building — to be demolished and a smaller building, at 9,835 square feet, constructed in its place.

The property’s owner, Koru Property Management, received several exemptions, including a variance of setback spacing and reduced parking.

The current building, near the Ralphs shopping center, has space for 60 parking spots — three fewer than city code requires on the new project. Koru was approved to make up the difference, and more, through a valet parking program that adds 18 overflow spaces on its current lot.

The program will be implemented on an as-needed basis.

City planners said if that the parking plan proves insufficient, Koru could have to clear space by removing outdoor dining patios or making the valet parking free.

The three ground-floor restaurants will have 2,290, 1,400 and 1,110 square feet, with about 2,260 square feet worth of outdoor patio space between them.

The second floor will contain a single office, at 2,690 square feet.

“I think it’s a great project,” said commission Chairman Robert Dickson, who also complimented the parking plan.

East 17th Street, “as everyone knows, is a parking challenge,” Dickson said. “This is a rare opportunity to have an excess of spaces with a valet plan.”