Solana Beach Restaurant Gets Nod for Parking Lot

The San Diego County Zoning Administrator has conditionally approved a permit that will allow landlords of Diego’s restaurants to build a parking lot across the street from the site of the new Diego’s under construction in Solana Beach.

The decision Friday was made amid controversy surrounding the land east of California 101 and north of Via de la Valle, owned by the Los Angeles-based Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co.

Although Americor, the partnership which is Diego’s landlord, holds a valid lease to the property, a Solana Beach civic group claims they hold a lease for at least a portion of the same property.

Zoning Administrator Sonja Itson granted the permit upon the condition that the question of who holds the lease be cleared up before any construction on the parking lot begins, project manager Cynthia Kallmeyer said.

A noise impact report submitted by Americor and accepted by Itson stated that noise made by late-night revelers would not significantly affect the neighborhood, Kallmeyer said.

Residents who have fought the parking lot were reportedly unhappy about the decision and have indicated they will take it to the Board of Planning and Zoning Appeals, Kallmeyer said.

“In the meantime, we’re going to try to work out that lease business,” Kallmeyer said.

Other conditions set by Itson include:

- Permit parking for any commercial establishment, including Diego’s, must be limited to 135 spaces.

- A parking attendant must be on duty between 10 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., when the club would close.

- Anyone parking between those hours must park at the northern half of the lot to lessen noise in the neighborhood.

- A five-foot-high fence must be built around the lot, cedar wood on three sides and chain link on the fourth.

- Landscaping must restore any plants or shrubs uprooted by construction.