Chronic Tacos’ plans denied

The Newport Beach City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to send a West Coast Highway taco stand’s dreams of expansion back to the kitchen, even after the eatery dropped its controversial plans to serve beer.

Concerns about inadequate parking, parking lot litter and the sticker-covered exterior of Chronic Tacos, 4525 W. Coast Hwy., sank the restaurant’s expansion plans, which included a sit-down dining area and two television sets.

At the last minute, the eatery did away with a request for a license to serve beer, but it wasn’t enough to sway the City Council.

Councilman Steve Rosansky scolded restaurant owner Dan Biello for litter in the shopping center parking lot outside the stand and the appearance of his storefront, which is covered in bright-colored stickers.

“Actions speak louder than words, and yours have not been up to snuff, not to the point where this council feels like further extending our goodwill,” Rosansky said. “You haven’t proven you can operate even in the small space you have.”

Newport Beach residents at the meeting voiced concerns about parking problems the expansion could cause at the shopping center at Superior Avenue and West Coast Highway.

“This is a big impact for West Newport,” Lori Morris, a Newport Beach resident, told the City Council. “Listen to community members: This center cannot take any more parking congestion.”

Biello, whose restaurant chain includes more than 20 locations, along with the Chronic Cantina at Triangle Square in Costa Mesa, said he would clean up the restaurant if given the chance.

The West Coast Highway taco stand has outgrown its roughly 600 square feet of space and it needs to expand, he said.

“People love my product. I need to give them better service, storage, seating and bathrooms,” Biello said. “If it fits, it’s your call. I think I can clean up that center. Give me a shot at it; maybe you guys will look at me with better respect.”

Concerned with what they believe is a glut of bars in West Newport, a group of residents blocked Chronic Tacos’ plans earlier this year to expand its small take-out taco operation to serve beer and include a sit-down dining area with 15 flat-screen TVs. The Newport Beach Planning Commission rejected the plans in a 5-2 vote in June after hearing from residents who were concerned about alcohol sales and parking.

The restaurant later downsized its expansion plans to include only two televisions. Chronic Tacos also cut plans for a beer bar and scaled back a seating area for customers. Plans for a public area of the restaurant were slashed from 1,065 square feet to 840 square feet.

In other business, the council voted unanimously in closed session to appeal an Orange County Superior Court ruling that said the city can’t sue the Newport Beach drug and alcohol rehabilitation home operator Morningside Recovery over a 2007 moratorium on new sober living homes in the city.

A Superior Court judge ruled in August that the city couldn’t win a lawsuit against Morningside for violating the moratorium because it had already passed another ordinance to curb the spread of rehabilitation homes in the city, thereby invalidating the previous ban.