Planning Commission temporarily suspends parking enforcement for La Playa�s outdoor patio

The St. Joseph Planning Commission on a voice vote approved a temporary suspension of the citys off-street parking enforcement so La Playa can reinstall a patio at the rear of its building.

Staff told the commission the proposed patio would remove about eight parking spaces from a site that staff calculates currently holds roughly 23 spaces; after accounting for other constraints the facility would effectively have about 16 spaces remaining. Staff said the building predates modern parking regulations and asked commissioners for direction on the appeal of an administrative permit denial.

Sean Reathner, who identified himself as the La Playa bar owner, described property improvements and operational practices to manage parking, saying, "We paid $30,000 to redo that lot about 4 years ago." Reathner said employees commonly use parking on the north side of the building and that the business coordinates with a neighboring property owner to avoid conflicts.

Commissioners debated options including ordinance revisions, a temporary suspension limited to legacy properties, and the risk of worsening downtown parking if changes applied broadly to future projects. One commissioner warned that a permanent change could "exacerbat[e] an already tight parking situation in Downtown Central," while another said a temporary suspension for a facility that predates the ordinance was reasonable.

Commissioner Nate Bienas moved to temporarily suspend enforcement of the parking ordinance for the patio (the motion specified the action covered the patio, not any later structure). The motion was seconded and carried by voice vote.

The commission also discussed materials and design for a later proposed freestanding structure that the owner may add within the patio footprint. Staff listed allowed downtown materials (brick, precast concrete, natural stone, glass, stucco, prefinished architectural metal panels) and noted architectural metal has been used in past exceptions but is capped at 15% by current code. Commissioners asked the applicant to return with clearer elevations and material samples; staff recommended the applicant come back with options so the commission could make a formal recommendation to the council.

Next steps: the applicant is to provide detailed renderings and material specifications for the proposed structure; any change to the ordinance or permanent exception would require further action.