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The Pleasanton Planning Commission last week granted longer alcohol-service hours to the under-construction SideTrack Bar and Grill downtown and then waded into a neighborhood dispute over a resident’s request to build an outdoor staircase connecting to her house’s second story.
The owners of SideTrack sought permission to serve alcohol on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights until 1 a.m. once the restaurant opens at 30 W. Angela St. — a request that triggered commission review, under city code, for alcohol service later than 11 p.m.
City staff recommended approval of the extended hours based on proposed operating conditions, consistency with other downtown restaurants and city objectives in the Downtown Hospitality Guidelines aimed at improving the viability of downtown, including supporting more restaurant options and nightlife venues.
The commissioners heard some concerns before the July 25 meeting, and from one resident during the hearing, about noise and other neighborhood disturbances, according to community development director Gerry Beaudin. He noted the public concerns about SideTrack seemed somewhat conflated with criticisms associated with the summer Concerts in the Park in nearby Lions Wayside Park.
In the end, the commission unanimously approved SideTrack’s use permit with extended alcohol hours on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and up to 10 other times each year for holidays and other special occasions.
SideTrack remains under construction and is on track to open as early as October, according to owner Todd Utikal.
The single-story building, which is being remodeled to house SideTrack, became rundown in the years after former tenant Joy China Cuisine closed in 2015. The site has deep civic ties for Pleasanton — the building was constructed in 1968 for an Alameda County Justice Court and later served as the City Council chambers during the 1970s, before becoming a commercial site.
In other business, the commission approved a resident’s request to build an exterior staircase connecting to the second story of her Corte Del Vista house, a project opposed by her backyard neighbor concerned about privacy, noise and visual impacts.
The situation developed from homeowner Shadi Azizi’s desire to create a separate entrance for her tenant who rents rooms in her house, located off Paseo Santa Cruz about half a mile from Pleasanton Tennis and Community Park.
Azizi’s proposal called for constructing a new outdoor staircase and exterior door on the northern side of the house. City staff noted she first tried to build an interior staircase and new interior walls without permits, resulting in a code enforcement action that precipitated her formal application with a revamped, exterior plan.
The city’s zoning administrator approved the exterior staircase in May, finding appropriate design elements would minimize the impacts on backyard neighbor John Vinci, who argued the staircase would negatively affect his property’s privacy, existing views of Pleasanton Ridge and quietness when people use the new door and staircase.
The zoning administrator required solid wood paneling and shifted the stairs’ landing in order to mitigate visual and noise impacts — while also pointing out that redwood trees in the yards already provide a natural screen between the neighbors and blocks most of Vinci’s view of the Ridge.
Vinci appealed the staff-level decision to the Planning Commission, which sided with the zoning administrator last week. The commissioners found the design was appropriate and voted unanimously to deny the appeal and approve the staircase project, Beaudin said.
