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Philz Coffee might soon be opening its first-ever location in Pleasanton if the city’s Planning Commission approves the conditional use permit along with other design review documents during its Dec. 11 meeting.
Eric Luchini, senior planner for the city, wrote in his staff report for Wednesday’s meeting that staff have reviewed the design proposal for the potential new Philz Coffee and that the design plans are consistent with city regulations and ordinances.
“As proposed and conditioned, staff believes the proposed use would be compatible with the surrounding businesses and will not detrimentally affect the surrounding uses,” Luchini stated in his staff report. “Conditions of approval have been included which would ensure the safety and general welfare of the surrounding area, and the city in general, is maintained.
The coffee shop, which was founded in San Francisco in 2003 and has since expanded throughout California and Chicago, is aiming to take over an existing commercial building at 1803 Santa Rita Road — located inside the Valley Plaza Shopping Center.
If approved, the establishment would be the second to open in the Tri-Valley, with another location at City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon.
According to Luchini, the building under consideration in Pleasanton was previously occupied by a Kentucky Fried Chicken and the coffee shop’s design plans are not proposing any major changes to the building itself.
“The applicant is proposing to repurpose the existing approximately 2,479-square-foot former KFC drive-through restaurant building and operate a drive-through coffee restaurant,” Luchini said.
The coffee shop is proposing to operate daily from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. with a maximum of five employees on-site.
In his report, he noted that the applicant — Patti Nelson, the chief development officer for Philz Coffee — is not proposing any site changes other than minor exterior changes to the existing building’s roof as well as new site and building-mounted signage.
“Only minimal color changes are proposed for the existing building, which include changing the metal roof and building cornice colors from white to yellow,” Luchini said. “Previously, the roof and portions of the building’s walls were painted red when occupied by KFC. These changes would not drastically change the visual aesthetic of the existing building or the surrounding area.”
As far as any traffic concerns, Luchini wrote that traffic impacts have already been addressed when the shopping center was originally approved and the existing drive through was analyzed when the building was first constructed.
“The existing drive-through has been operating for approximately the past 30 years without any traffic or circulation problems being reported to the city,” he wrote. “The city’s traffic engineer has reviewed the assessment and agrees it is unlikely that vehicle queues would extend beyond the limits of the existing drive-through lane and into the shopping center drive aisles.”
Even though staff believe the proposed use of the building will be consistent with zoning regulations in that area, the Planning Commission could choose to deny the project. Another option would be to approve the conditional use permit with modifications such as limiting the coffee shop’s hours of operation.
However, those choices would not be aligned with staff’s recommendations, Luchini stated.
“Staff is able to support the findings to approve the proposed use, as proposed, and believes the project would not adversely impact any existing on-site uses or the surrounding area; thus, staff suggests neither of the two project alternatives above should be pursued,” he said.
The Planning Commission meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Dec. 11). The full agenda can be accessed here.
