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Z-2000-05 Public hearing on an
application to amend the Village Crossing Planned Unit Development to allow
drive-in and drive through restaurant facilities on the south 150 feet of
Parcel 1, located at the northwest corner of Andover Road and Village Road. Chairman McEachern asked if there was any ex-parte communications
regarding this project. Commissioner Geisler stated that Mr. and Mrs. John
Cash, 306 Village Road, which is lot 7, communicated with her that she and
her husband do not want a drive-thru or drive-in restaurant in that area.
Les Mangus shared a voice mail he received with Chairman McEachern from Bill
Blair, the owner of the duplexes directly west of this location, and Mr.
Blair stated he has no opposition to this request.
Mr. Bob Kaplan of 430 N. Market, Wichita, is an attorney representing the applicants Dr. A. J. Reed and Dr. George Howell.
Mr. Kaplan stated that is an application regarding the south 150’ of the
property, which is the property that borders Village Road and Andover Road. Mr. Kaplan stated that at the time of the original application for P.U.D.
two uses were presented and deleted, which were liquor stores and restaurants
with drive-thru facilities. He stated that at that time there were no
prospects for either. Mr. Kaplan stated that since that date Dr. Reed and
Dr. Howell have had contact with Spangles and are now requesting amendment to
allow a drive-thru restaurant. Mr. Kaplan stated he has reviewed the minutes
of the past meeting for this subject and the “hot button” seemed to be the
outdoor speakers and there was a lot of discussion and concern regarding this
issue. Mr. Kaplan stated that he wanted to bring in the intended user and
have them address the issues the Committee may have.
Mr. Kaplan stated he has brought into
the meeting Dave Dooman, from Spangles to go over specific site information.
He has also brought Curt Radi, who is a distributor and vendor for speaker
systems to simulate giving an order and give a sense of the noise decibel
level. Mr. Kaplan asked Mr. Radi what his decibel level was for his speaking
in the meeting and Mr. Radi stated that it was averaging 68 decibels. Mr.
Kaplan stated that the order board will not be any louder than 68 decibels
and the sound will be directed at one car only and also towards Andover Road,
not the housing to the west.
Mr. Kaplan stated that the access to Village Road was previously approved and not an issue for this hearing but also stated he
brought Mr. Bill McKinley to address the traffic issues, he is a traffic
engineer retired from the City of Wichita. Mr. Kaplan stated Phil Meyer with
Baughman Company was also in attendance to address any site planning and land
use issues.
Mr. Kaplan stated that the Commission
has imposed an 8’ masonry wall on the west property line and wanted to remind
the Commission there is also an existing cedar fence west of the proposed
masonry wall. Mr. Kaplan stated that this meeting is only addressing the
south 150’ of the site.
Mr. Kaplan stated that Mr. Blair owns
the lots directly west of the 150’ site and is not in opposition to this
use. Mr. Blair has talked to Dr. Reed about this and also left a voice mail
for Mr. Mangus stating his opinion. Mr. Kaplan stated that Charles Malcom’ s
motion from the July 18, 2000 Planning Commission meeting, stated his motion
amended the original motion to allow speakers with a reasonable audio, not
obtrusive to the adjoining neighborhood, which was approved. Mr. Kaplan
stated that restaurants were approved, outdoor speakers were approved and the
access was approved. Mr. Kaplan stated that the Planning Commission is here
to address permitting a restaurant with a drive-thru. Mr. Kaplan also stated
that Grant Tidemann, of J. P. Weigand Realtors, the realtor for the project,
was also present for any questions. Mr. Kaplan then presented a letter from
Curt Radi from 3M that offers an explanation of decibels.
Commissioner Lori Hays arrived at 7:27
p.m.
Dave Dooman, 1128 N. Linden Circle, Wichita is the CFO and Director of Real Estate for Spangles. He stated he was here to
address the speaker orientation. His company has recently spent a
considerable amount of money on a new prototype building in Hutchinson, and
is now in the process of refining the building. This is what he will be showing
the Commission. He stated that one of the most important aspects of their
business is the drive-thru, which accounts for nearly 50% of business. The
building design is oriented with the front of the building to face a major
street. In this case the sketch doesn’t orient the building to Andover Road but to Village Road and Spangles is willing to turn the orientation of the
building. The main reason to change the orientation is to relocate the
drive-thru menu board and speaker box to the north and east instead of to the
west. Speaker and menu noise will be directed in a “V” shaped pattern toward
Andover Road and won’t be heard by residents to the west and possibly even to
the commercial on the north side of the site. Mr. Dooman stated that they’ve
satisfied concerns with the site speaker noise and sound levels. Mr. Dooman
stated that no matter what happens there will be car noise just like a
restaurant without a drive-thru. Ron Roberts asked if the building is
rotated 90°, can’t the speakers be to the front. Mr. Dooman stated that he
has tried to work that out but he wants to make the traffic flow user
friendly. He could put the speakers in the front but the parking lot
wouldn’t be user friendly. Lynn Heath asked where the pick up window would
be. Mr. Dooman stated the pick up window will be on the west side of the
building with no microphone, voice only. Sheri Geisler asked what the
building will look like. Mr. Duman stated it is a 50’s style and submitted
photos of the prototype building in Hutchinson to the Commission.
Curt Radi of 317 Roberts Street in Hutchinson, with Sound Products presented information regarding sound decibels. Mr. Radi
presented a demonstration of the proposed speaker set up at a preset 70
decibels. He stated that 65 decibels is a normal conversational level. Mr.
Radi stated that the proposed speaker would be approximately 80’ east of the
masonry wall. Mr. Radi stated that a person usually can’t hear someone’s
order when they are in front of you in the drive-thru order line. He set up
a unit on a chair and demonstrated 70 decibels. Mr. Radi stated the speaker
will be mounted lower than the chair seat height. Lynn Heath asked if they
provided the units for Wendy’s. Mr. Radi stated they are authorized but
didn’t know if they had done the Andover Wendy’s. Mr. Heath stated that he
is not able to hear people in front of him when they order or when the window
is talking back. Mr. Radi stated the new speakers are smaller and more
efficient. Sheri Geisler asked what the hours of the B-2 are. Lynn Heath stated 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Quentin Coon asked what percentage of
traffic flow will come from Village Road. Mr. Bill McKinley, 304 Wind Rose Lake Drive in Goddard, a traffic engineer retired from the City of Wichita, answered the question. He stated that only a small number of the traffic flow
will come from Village Road. Mr. McKinley sated that 90-95% of the traffic
will come off of Andover Road. Village Road will just be used for 50’ or so
to get the entrance. Mr. McKinley stated he feels the majority will come off
of Village Road but not penetrate further than the driveway on Village Road.
Chairman McEachern asked Mr. Dooman
what HC and HC VAN meant on the site drawing. Mr. Dooman stated this stands
for handicap and handicap van. Chairman McEachern thought the location was
a tight fit. Mr. Dooman stated that Mr. Mangus had noted that also, and this
item would be addressed by the architect.
The public hearing opened for public
comment at 8:10 p.m. Chairman McEachern asked if there was anyone from the
public to address the issue.
Jo Schreiber of 216 Village (lot 13)
asked to address the Commission. She stated this is an emotional issue to
her. She stated that when the developer first met with the neighborhood
residents a year or so ago she was impressed with the quality of the proposed
project but now it has all changed. She also commented that the Braum’s lot
is a public nuisance and something should be done. Mrs. Schreiber asked why
Spangle’s can’t put in a window and talk person to person. She also stated
she has problems with the access for Braum’s and Spangles being on Village Road and stated she feels this will cause traffic problems.
Guy Rupert of 119 Lexington stated he
is living behind the office suites. He stated he also went to the meeting a
year ago and went with a negative point of view, but that changed. He stated
that Braum’s and Spangles will cause a lot of additional traffic on Village Road. He stated that 50% of their business is drive-thru, just wait until the new
High School was complete over there and watch the increase in traffic. Mr.
Rupert stated that having a drive-thru in the area could change the prices of
homes. He also stated he likes Spangles burgers, eats there often but
doesn’t want Spangles at this location. Mr. Rupert stated this may affect
the buildings to the north of this location also. He doesn’t believe anyone
speaking lives in Andover and stated there are lots of traffic problems there
now, and this will add to it. Mr. Rupert stated he doesn’t know how you can
add to the traffic in this area. Mr. Rupert stated that the areas south of
Kellogg hasn’t been touched for development and asked why all the growth is
to the north of Kellogg.
Xury Hole, 318 Willowbrook is not
concerned with the speaker boxes. He stated people live closer to Taco Bell
than anyone will live to Spangles but the auto dealer on the corner of
Kellogg and Andover Road was extremely loud. He stated he believes the City
needs to look at the noise levels on Andover Road and on the highway. It
needs to be looked at and addressed.
Bob Kaplan, as a rebuttal to public
comments, stated that during the meeting approximately a year ago there was
no concern that the property was to be commercial. That most of the
attendees knew that property would be commercial. He also stated the north
side of the property is zoned for office business use only.
Chairman McEachern asked if there was anyone else from
the public to address the issue. There were none. The public hearing was
closed at 8:28 p.m.
Charles Malcom asked how long it would be until the road
from the neighborhood would be built to Kellogg. Mr. Mangus stated that Jamestown is already built over to Onewood Drive and out to Highway 54. Mr. Malcom asked
if we knew how much traffic is on it. Chairman McEachern stated there is not
much, mostly the homeowners in the neighborhood. Les Mangus stated there are
no other provisions for roads to connect to Kellogg. Mr. Mangus stated there
is a cul-de-sac east of Onewood Drive but no changes have been approved.
Quentin Coon commented that there is a lot of traffic on
Village Road and Andover Road.
Ron Roberts asked the question when will we need to look
at widening Village Road approach to Andover Road due to traffic.
Les Mangus reminded the Commission that this is an
application to add one use to the B-2 Parcel.
Chairman McEachern stated that this is an application
for drive-thru and drive-in restaurants, a restaurant is already allowed and
wanted to comment there will be cars idling at a drive-thru or a restaurant.
Lynn Heath commented that there is not much traffic by 9:00 or 9:30 p.m. in Andover. He remembered that this was to be an upscale area with a lot of trees. He
doesn’t think this quite lives up to what was being proposed for in this
area. He doesn’t feel the speaker noise or evening traffic will not affect
the neighborhood. Mr. Heath again commented that he did not feel this was
the type of building he envisioned from the previous P.U.D. presentation.
Ron Roberts echoed Mr. Heath’s comments and stated if a
drive-thru was allowed he would like one-way in and out curb cuts. He is
very concerned with the curb cuts and not concerned with the speakers.
Sheri Geisler and Lori Hays agreed with Mr. Heath and
Mr. Roberts. Charles Malcom stated his concern was with traffic.
Chairman McEachern asked Commissioner Hays if she had
enough information to consider this issue since she had arrived. He stated
she did. Then Chairman McEachern stated that the Planning Commission denied
the drive-thru originally in July of 2000. He asked what circumstances have
changed to change the minds of the Planning Commission.
Les Mangus addressed the traffic issue. He stated that
the traffic generation information from the Institute of Traffic Engineers
manual states that a high turnover sit down restaurant averages 164 traffic
trips for each 1000 square feet of restaurant space per week day. A
drive-thru restaurant averages 553 traffic trips for each 1000 square feet of
restaurant space per week day. Mr. Mangus then stated that sit down
restaurants have between 39 and 150 trips per peak hour, and a drive-thru
restaurant of this size could generate 300 trips per peak hour. Mr. Mangus
stated that peak hour at a restaurant is considered noon to 1:00 p.m. He
stated that there are now approximately 2,200 cars per hour during the peak
time on Andover Road. Mr. Mangus stated this drive-thru could add a 10-15%
increase to the Andover Road traffic.
Mr. Dooman, the Director of Real Estate for Spangles,
stated that he doesn’t feel the traffic count would be that high. He stated
that 500 cars a day is a pretty good day and he feel that 50% of the business
in the drive-thru may be a high estimate, generally stores average 40-42% of
their business from drive-thru traffic. Chairman McEachern asked if there
was a peak time in the evening. Mr. Dooman stated that there is not any real
peak time in the evening. Fast food has traditionally not been able to attract
a lot of evening business. Lynn Heath asked if they served breakfast. Mr.
Dooman stated they did and that is a steady business, not a rush hour type
business.
Mr. Kaplan wanted to clarify that when this was
originally approved there was a permitted access on Village Road. This
entire acreage could exit onto Village Road, which was the idea of the
original plan and now it appears to be an impediment to this project.
Having considered the evidence at the hearing and the
factors to evaluate the application, Quentin Coon moved that the Planning
Commission recommend to the Governing Body that the application to
amend the Village Crossing Planned Unit Development to allow drive-in and
drive through restaurant facilities on the south 150 feet of Parcel 1,
located at the northwest corner of Andover Road and Village Road be denied
based on the findings that this wasn’t the original intent of the P.U.D. and
the increased traffic concentration on Village Road. John McEachern seconded
the motion. Motion carried 7-0.
Chairman
McEachern thanked all of the participants in this hearing.
Chairman
McEachern called for a recess of the meeting at 8:52 p.m.
Meeting
reconvened at 9:00 p.m.
Chairman
McEachern stated that he neglected to ask Mr. Mangus if proper notice had
been given. Mr. Mangus stated that the notices were mailed to the property
owners on 12/18/00 and notice was published in the paper on 12/21/00.
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