Council rejects site plan for proposed restaurant at 920 Bulls Avenue after traffic concerns

Council members voted down a site-plan review for a proposed restaurant/retail building at 920 Bulls Avenue on a 4-3 roll call after extended discussion about vehicle stacking and traffic on Bowles Avenue.

The Planning and Zoning Commission had recommended approval with conditions, and city staff said short-term traffic checks had not revealed vehicles backing into Bowles Avenue. Still, several aldermen said the layout — including the drive-through/stacking arrangement — risked future backups and potential safety problems.

The vote matters because the property has been under negotiation for months and the developer said the decision will delay closing and construction. The applicant, Tory Woodcock of Woodcock Investments LLC, told the board he has spent “thousands of dollars” and worked with city staff for months on engineering and site details.

Council members led the discussion. Alderman Harrell, who introduced the Planning and Zoning report at the meeting, said he had previously observed stacking on the site and cited earlier trouble at the same location when a former Sonic restaurant operated there. Alderman Harrell and two other aldermen voted against approval, citing public-safety concerns. Aldermen Mazurang, Lang and Jokers voted to approve the plan; the motion failed.

City planning staff reported they had conducted field observations during the times the applicant said would generate peak traffic (around lunchtime) and saw “no backing issues” and generally observed about six to eight vehicles at peak times during those checks. Staff told the aldermen they monitored the site “nearly every day” during the period identified by the applicant and did not receive complaints from Captain Kevin Lawson of the police department.

The applicant disputed the board’s decision, saying he had supplied the required civil engineering plans and worked with planning staff for more than 100 days. Woodcock said he has been trying to close on the property for about six months and that the vote would force him to seek legal counsel because of the time and expense already invested.

Discussion highlights: - Traffic stacking and the drive-through layout on Bowles Avenue were the chief concerns raised by multiple aldermen. Several referenced past stacking problems at the site when a Sonic restaurant operated there. - Planning staff said the site-plan review “met all the requirements of the zoning code” and reported on short-term field monitoring that did not show backup onto Bowles Avenue; the largest observed vehicle count at one time was reported as six to eight vehicles. - One alderman said staff had placed officers in the area during lunchtime observations and Captain Lawson reported no citizen complaints during the monitoring period.

Outcome and next steps: The motion to approve the site plan failed on a roll call recorded in the meeting transcript as four nays (Harrell, Claus, Hills, Westbrock) and three ayes (Mazurang, Lang, Jokers). The applicant said he will consult an attorney and may pursue other options; the board gave no further formal direction and did not vote to remand the item back to Planning and Zoning at the conclusion of the session.

Community context: The property is in a commercially active corridor of Fenton. Several aldermen framed their vote as a precaution to avoid creating future traffic hazards on Bowles Avenue, a street that has previously experienced vehicle stacking when fast-food and similar businesses operated at that location.

Provenance: Planning and Zoning introduction: “This case received a positive recommendation from the planning and zoning commission, and will be considered on a new bill.” (transcript excerpt) Final applicant comment and vote aftermath: “Just final comments. I've spent thousands of dollars on this project, and this is ridiculous... I will be finding an attorney to help me through this process because this is very upsetting.” (transcript excerpt)