The Planning Commission has denied, 5-0, a Use Permit amendment which was a necessary first step in legalizing the Montara restaurant's outdoor patios constructed in 2008 without Coastal Development Permit. Given the many long-standing and repeated code violations, the Commissioners said they had no assurance the owner would comply with current or new conditions of approval. Despite assurances that the 189-seat capacity would not be exceeded, the Commissioners saw the patios as an intensification of use which has significant impact on public beach access and nearby residential neighborhoods. [MCC comments 8/26/15, 11/1/15, 1/12/16]
The same entrenched code compliance issues caused the Sept 2014 Planning Commission action to unanimously deny a more extensive Use Permit amendment which included allowing daytime hours. That decision is pending appeal to the Board of Supervisors.
The restaurant was permitted by the Coastal Commission in 1977 as a dinner house, open 5pm to normal closing time, in order to accommodate a shared parking arrangement with beach users in the former First St right-of-way, since the restaurant had nowhere near enough onsite parking space. One of the many violations has been the repeated installation of customer-parking tow-away signs at the shared lot and even at the unimproved State Parks lot to keep out the beach-going public.
Another overdue issue the property owner must address is the deteriorating riprap installed in 1983 to protect the new restaurant from seacliff erosion.
UPDATE 3/30/16: Additional Citation for violation of hours of operations on 3/13/16.
