Adrian’s Planning Commission is weighing a site plan and special land use permit for a new McDonald’s with a drive-thru on Maumee Street — a request that’s prompted questions about traffic, buffering and nearby homes.
According to Community Development Building Official Daniel Black, the plan for 1548 W. Maumee and 4201 W. Maple Ave. aligns with the properties’ current zoning, even though the municipality’s Future Land Use Map shows the plots labeled under “Office.”
“(The map) is helpful to guide a planning commission, but the zoning ordinance is legally binding,” Black said. “The current zoning of the subject properties is B-2, and restaurants are a by-right permitted use.”
The proposed restaurant would sit immediately south of residential properties. For that reason, Black said, commissioners are closely examining potential impacts to neighboring homes.
“All of the issues you’ve mentioned — noise, lighting and traffic — have been discussed and are continuing to be considered, in addition to screening and other site design elements,” Black said.
Officials, for example, have asked for more detail about planned fencing along the property’s northern boundary. The fence height was listed in the proposed site plan, but not the material.
“I suggested that perhaps additional screening would be helpful, using landscape plantings to help absorb or block sound, lights and views from the neighboring properties,” Black said.
Traffic is another focus, given that Maumee Street already has several drive-thru restaurants. Black said planners will consider cumulative impacts along the corridor, not one project in isolation.
“There’s a more in-depth traffic study underway that will be presented prior to (the meeting in May),” he said.
Commissioners are expected to review the updated traffic data, buffering options and site design details before making a decision.
— Contact reporter Corey Murray at cmurray@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @cmurrayhdn.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Could a third McDonald’s be coming to Adrian? What we know
Reporting by Corey J. Murray, The Daily Telegram / The Daily Telegram
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