AGENDA CAPTION:
Title
VR-24-08 (Jorge’s Mexican Restaurant) Hold a public hearing and consider a request by Jorge H. Ruiz Martinez, on behalf of Jorge’s Mexican Restaurant, for a variance to Section 5.1.5.5 of the San Marcos Development Code, regarding the Sale and On Premise Consumption of Alcohol within 300 ft. of a public or private school, located at 2550 Hunter Road. (C. Garrison)
Body
Meeting date: October 22, 2024
Department: Planning and Development Services
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Background Information:
This Variance application accompanies CUP-24-51 Jorge’s Mexican Restaurant, and is for relief to the 300 ft. distance requirement from public or private schools. A CUP and variance to the distance requirement were previously approved at this location in 2023 for Jorge’s Mexican Restaurant (CUP-23-39 and VR-23-09) and in 2021 for a different restaurant (CUP-21-14 and VR-21-14.)
Section 2.8.3.7 of the Land Development Code requires that the governing officer of the school board provide a letter of no-objection to request for a distance variance less than 300’ from a school. A letter from the Superintendent of San Marcos CISD is included in the application packet. The letter states that the School District does not object to the issuance of the inclusion of the following language in the menu: “Due to the close proximity of a school campus, please be alert for students and drive carefully. This restaurant will accommodate, as necessary, any individual that needs transportation after consuming alcoholic beverages.”
The applicant’s representative has agreed to add the above language to the menu, and this has been proposed as a condition. The Code also requires that the primary entrance of the business be more than 200’ from that of the school. The primary entrance of the school was verified with a representative of the School District, and the distance between the two primary entrances is approximately 740’.
The applicant must conduct its business in a manner to insure that its gross revenue from the sale of alcohol shall be less than twenty-five (25) percent of the total gross revenue. Per the applicant’s representative, alcohol sales are anticipated to constitute between 10-15% of the total revenue, and an annual report indicating that alcohol sales make up less than 25% of the total revenue has been proposed as a condition to this approval.
Council Committee, Board/Commission Action:
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Alternatives:
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Recommendation:
Staff recommends approval with the following conditions:
1.The Variance shall be valid for one (1) year (concurrent with the associated Conditional Use Permit), provided standards are met; and
2.The following statement shall be included on all restaurant menus: “Due to the close proximity of a school campus, please be alert for students and drive carefully. This restaurant will accommodate, as necessary, any individual that needs transportation after consuming alcoholic beverages”; and
3.The restaurant shall operate such that gross revenue from alcohol sales will be less than 25% of total gross revenue for the business, with the restaurant submitting annual reports indicating this condition has been met.