Rock and Brews seeks to formalize outdoor‑dining changes as commission weighs $271,476 parking‑fee relief

The El Segundo City Planning Commission heard a public hearing on a downtown design review, an amendment to an existing conditional use permit and an alcohol‑use permit for Rock and Brews, including a reconfiguration that adds roughly 427 square feet of outdoor dining and a proposed 18‑foot metal truss over the corner dining area.

Planning staff member Eduardo presented the proposal and recommended the commission approve the downtown design review, acknowledge the additional outdoor alcohol‑service area through an amended AUP and amend the CUP to allow live entertainment up to two times per week under an annual entertainment permit. "Staff is not supportive" of eliminating the applicant's obligation to pay previously agreed parking in‑lieu fees, he said, noting the fees fund public parking improvements and other downtown projects.

The fee relief request is tied to a 2013–14 agreement under which the applicant entered a 20‑year payment plan instead of paying an up‑front contribution. Eduardo told the commission the applicant now owes a combined balance of $271,476.02. Staff said the 2024 downtown specific plan reduced required parking for new businesses but does not erase contracts signed under prior rules.

Michael Zisles, the founder of Rock and Brews, told the commission he built 35 on‑site spaces and that downtown parking patterns and the business climate have changed since the agreements were signed. "I was the risk taker back in the day, and now I'm looking for … consideration," Zisles said, arguing the business helped create the vibrant downtown the city now enjoys.

Adam Goldberg, CEO of Rock and Brews corporate, described a post‑COVID decline in customer demand and said the company has not substantially increased seating: "We are 35% down from where we were pre‑COVID," Goldberg said, urging leniency in repayment terms.

Commissioners questioned staff about how the in‑lieu fee is calculated, whether interest was applied to the payment plan and the precedent that forgiving or reducing the fee would create for other downtown businesses. The city attorney advised the commission that the agreements are legally binding covenants recorded on the property but noted the commission could direct staff to return with negotiated options.

Rather than take a final vote on the fee request, commissioners directed staff to prepare follow‑up information and possible terms — including the applicant’s proposal to extend repayment by another five or 10 years — and continued the matter to the planning commission meeting on June 11. The commission did not adopt a final decision on the in‑lieu fee relief at this meeting.