The Planning Commission approved a development plan and an alternative compliance request for a 4,100‑square‑foot ORNL Federal Credit Union branch with two drive‑through lanes at North Shore Town Center. The project includes a lakefront plaza and pedestrian connections to the adjacent lake and Town Center Boulevard.

Applicant representatives said the layout locates transaction windows and customer service where the building can function safely while preserving pedestrian access and a planned small plaza. The applicant argued the ordinance language (dating from a 2001 code) is ambiguous about whether drive aisles and approaches count as part of a “drive‑through facility,” and that, by their reading, the design places the transactional window and customer service behind the front face of the building as required.

Planning staff recommended denial of the alternative compliance request, citing Town Center (TC‑1) standards that prioritize building street frontage and place surface parking behind the building. Staff reviewers noted the current and legacy plans for Town Center show surface parking behind the primary facades and said town‑center code intends a pedestrian‑oriented frontage. Engineering staff confirmed sewer easements and other site constraints limit building placement on the parcel, which informed the applicant's layout.

Commissioners debated whether the proposal achieved the intent of TC‑1 and whether utilities and existing site constraints justified the alternative approach. Commissioner Butler, noting the proposal initiates a lakeside boardwalk and public plaza that had been part of earlier master plans for the center, said the project “starts to do that” and that locating the drive‑through in the chosen location minimized pedestrian conflicts. Several commissioners said they preferred stricter town‑center fronting but were persuaded that site constraints and the public realm improvements outweighed staff objections.

The commission approved the development plan and the requested alternative compliance by voice vote on a motion from Commissioner Butler with a second; Commissioner Midas opposed, saying the project did not meet the pedestrian‑oriented vision for TC‑1.

Ending: Staff and applicants said the approval will allow ORNL Federal Credit Union to remove an earlier in‑front drive‑through kiosk, add a pedestrian lakefront connection and proceed with final engineering and permitting.