Sonoma planning commission OK’s Williams-Sonoma expansion

Events with up to 80 guests and valet parking will be allowed at the Williams-Sonoma store on Broadway unless last’s nights decision of the Sonoma Planning Commission is overturned on an appeal to the City Council.

In a 4-3 decision, the commission allowed a one-year temporary permit for the holding of events, which could be as large as 80 people. Seven members of the public spoke out against the granting of the use permit expansion application, which also included expanded retail space and “take-out” food service.

Chairman Bill Willers indicated his lack of support for the expanded event-center use, but was with the minority members of the commission on the final vote. Other commissioners appeared to be fully in support of the application, even to the point of lavishing praise on Williams-Sonoma as a valued member of the business community.

At a previous meeting, it was pointed out that Williams-Sonoma had made changes in the use of the property beyond the conditions of approval of their original use permit. The house which was to be a private “guest chef residence” was converted to a furniture showroom, and the garden, as well, became retail product display space. Last night the question of ADA requirements was raised, and that matter appears to remain in question.

The valet parking issue stimulated discussion about the use of the Post Office parking lot, but again there seemed to be some lack of clarity about its availability for evening events. A professional valet parking operator will be engaged to arrange that service, but a specific plan was not offered despite the previous request of the commission.

Event size will be limited to a maximum of 80 people, and no medium or large events can be held on a Sunday. How the events will be monitored, codes enforced and effective compliance with regulations determined was not discussed, nor what standards will be applied in evaluating the efficacy of procedures and planning for such events.

The temporary permit is good for one year, at which time the commission and the city will review the permit and determine if it should be extended. The expanded retail use was approved and the use permit expanded to allow those uses.