The Benicia Planning Commission unanimously voted to deny a use permit for a hot dog restaurant on Bayshore Road at Thursday’s meeting. According to staff, the site had previously been operating as an event center without a permit.

In 2015, a business named La Fabriquita was established in the south end of the Benicia Foundry and Iron Works building to host weddings, birthday parties, meetings and other events. The building, located on Bayshore Road in the Industrial Park, was built in 1992 with additions made in 1995 and 1999.

In April of 2015, the applicant was told by city staff that an event center was not a permitted use in the industrial district.

Principal Planner Ann Welsh said the space was “of particular concern due to the lack of building permits, fire permits or adequate emergency exits.”

On April 27, 2015, the owner was sent a letter stating that the event center was not a permitted use and the license was rescinded. In May of that year, another letter was sent citing outside code violations and unpermitted work. A third cease and desist order was sent on Feb. 19, 2016, noting that events were still taking place despite the lack of a permit and that changing the location from a warehouse use and event use required seismic upgrades.

Two abatement notices were sent in 2016, and the building was red-tagged with a notice that the space was not safe to occupy as a general assembly use.

La Fabriquita switched its business model to an eating and drinking establishment with a limited menu of hot dogs, chips and soft drinks, and it would utilize 3,906 square feet of warehouse floor space. Welsh said this use is allowed in the industrial area, as long as there is no live entertainment or dancing associated with the space, something only allowed in businesses in commercial districts. The applicant also requested the use of private parties, which are not permitted in the district.

Welsh also noted that the restaurant would serve using paper plates and not have a full commercial kitchen, and it would operate from 5 to 11 p.m. on weekdays and noon to midnight on weekends. Other restaurants in the district typically operate from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“Staff does not believe that this timeframe would serve the industrial uses in the Benicia Industrial Park,” Welsh said. “Given the limited features in the proposed kitchen and the history of the space as an unpermitted event center, staff cannot support a use permit for this use.”

Stephen Gizzi, an attorney representing La Fabriquita, noted that Benicia Foundry & Iron Works is one of the oldest businesses in Benicia but has fallen on hard times in recent years, after more companies started ordering iron beds from overseas.

“Today, that company has 14 employees,” he said. “90 percent of their employees are gone, and they’re hanging on for dear life. Benicia Foundry is not excited about being in the restaurant business, but they’re out there with a 50,000 square foot warehouse and they’re trying to figure out how to survive.”

Gizzi assured that with the exception of a couple who held a wedding party in the space in August that had been planned much earlier, La Fabriquita has not hosted events at the space.

“To characterize them as superstitiously doing this is just not correct,” he said.

Gizzi defended the hours by saying that several businesses in the district operate 24 hours and might need a place to eat, and that it could not put in a full commercial kitchen because it costs $100,000. He also said that private parties could just be people reserving the restaurant for awards ceremonies.

“Maybe their business plan is to be open when nobody else is,” he said.

Commissioner Elizabeth Radtke asked Gizzi how the applicant came up with the hours. Gizzi said a big part of it was because of parking so that the Foundry’s hours would not overlap with the restaurant’s hours.

Vice Chair Trevor Macenski asked how popular the event center iteration was before it stopped. Gizzi said it was very popular. Chair Kari Birdseye asked if the space would be called an event center if approved and occasionally used for events. Gizzi said he would never use the term “event center.” Birdseye also asked how many people it would serve. Gizzi said it would be approximately 120 people, depending on the setup.

“I’m not saying they are not going to hold events,” Gizzi said. “I’m saying it’s not going to be an event center.”

Macenski asked if the space had provided catering services not cooked on site in the past. Gizzi said they did because they did not have a kitchen.

Commissioners expressed concerns over public safety and the vagueness of the proposal. Commissioner Kathleen Catton said she would like to see the space flourish but did not feel a plan was fully formed yet. Birdseye suggested the applicants come back to City Hall to work with staff and figure out how to make the project work. The commission voted 6-0— Commissioner George Oakes was absent— to deny the permit.

In other business, the commission voted to approve the adoption of a Benicia Industrial Park Transportation Employment Center plan and IS/MIND study and make a recommendation that the council adopt it.

The meeting was the last for Welsh and the first for Catton and Dan Masdeo, who were recently appointed by the council. The next meeting will be May 11.