Lapeer planning commission tables special-land-use request for MDHHS drive-through at former Rite Aid site

The Lapeer City Planning Commission on May 8 voted to table a special-land-use request from Green Builders Plus for a Michigan Department of Health and Human Services drive-through at 1022 West Genesee Street, saying the commission lacked enough design and operational detail to find the use complies with drive-through standards.

Commissioner Bostic moved to table the special-land-use request and Commissioner Brady seconded; the motion carried after a voice vote.

Planning staff said the parcel is zoned B-1 (neighborhood business) and that drive-through approvals must satisfy the zoning ordinance’s stacking, parking and compatibility standards. Staff recommended postponement until the applicant submits revised site drawings to resolve potential conflicts between stacking lanes, the loading zone and parking along the building’s west side. The staff report cited the ordinance standard (section 7.19(o)(4)) for drive-throughs and said the applicant had not provided required stacking dimensions or a final plan for the drive-through window and circulation.

Gary Slaiman of Green Builders Plus, speaking for the applicant, told the commission the proposed drive-through would be reduced to one lane and “a less intensive use than the former Rite Aid.” Slaiman said the former Rite Aid averaged about 561 vehicle trips per day and that MDHHS expects “less than a 100” daily trips for the new use; he added the program is a pilot and that actual drive-through use could be as few as “three people a day.” Slaiman and the planning staff also said MDHHS intends to operate primarily by appointment, and the applicant said MDHHS had estimated “between 10 to 20 appointments per day.”

Several residents at the hearing urged caution, citing traffic and stacking concerns at the site near Main and Genesee streets and the site’s proximity to surrounding residential parcels. One resident, Colleen Hausman of North Main Street, said she has observed “a lot of activity in that corner” and worried about parking displacement. Property owner Dr. Hamoud also spoke and asked that the commission identify specific compliance issues for the applicant to fix.

Planning staff and commission members repeatedly said the central unknowns were (1) a clear, single use determination for the proposed services at the window, (2) the final drive-through design with stacking dimensions, and (3) how stacking would interact with parking and a proposed loading zone. Alex (planning staff) told the commission that the special-land-use standards require the applicant to demonstrate details for circulation and stacking before approval and that those details had not been provided in a complete form.

Given those gaps, the commission’s motion to table requires the applicant to return with a revised site plan addressing stacking, loading and parking conflicts and to clarify the services to be delivered at the drive-through. The tabling preserves the applicant’s ability to revise plans and return for a future hearing; staff advised applicants may remove the drive-through from plans if they decide it is unnecessary.

The commission did not make final findings on whether the proposed use is consistent with the master plan or whether the drive-through would be compatible with neighboring residences; those issues remain open pending the revised submission.

The commission closed the hearing after the vote and moved to the separate site-plan item for the same address.