Subject:
Title
Public Hearing on Request for Approval of Modifications of Site Plan Requirements Related to Parking for Bear Branch Tavern, located at 133 Maple Ave., E, to increase the maximum number of seats from 300 to 337 (15 mins.)
Body
DATE(S) OF PRIOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION OF THIS ISSUE: 9/17/2018
EXPLANATION AND SUMMARY:
Bear Branch Tavern currently operates with 249 seats (159 indoor seats and 90 outdoor patio seats). A 2018 Modification of Requirements approved by Town Council allows the restaurant to operate with up to 300 seats. The modification was needed because, under standard calculations, the amount of parking needed by the combination of the upstairs office uses and the ground floor restaurant would exceed the 103 onsite parking spaces. In 2018, the Town Council determined that the highest demand for restaurant parking would be in the evening, when the offices are closed, and therefore concluded that the modification was warranted.
The applicant is now proposing to create a private dining space in the restaurant basement, which would add 88 additional seats to the current 249 seats, for a total of 337 seats - 37 more than the previously approved maximum of 300.
The applicant is proposing to deploy an onsite valet service, which would allow parking for 11 more vehicles on site than the 103 onsite spaces would normally allow. Doing so would provide enough parking for the 337 seats being used when the basement-level, private dining area is booked for use.
At its March 11, 2026, meeting, the Planning Commission recommended that the Town Council approve a modification of requirements related to onside parking to accommodate an increase in restaurant seating from 300 to 337, only for after 5 pm Monday-Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday. The Planning Commission did not include a recommendation that Town Council require valet services.
Departmental Recommendation: Staff believes that the Town Council could approve the requested modificatio...
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