Board permits reduced Gallatin-facing facade for drive-through at 2629 Gallatin Pike; neighbors voice traffic concerns

The Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals on May 1 approved a variance allowing a reduced Gallatin-facing front facade for a drive-through commercial building at 2629 Gallatin Pike, a proposal presented for a Scooter's Coffee tenant, but neighbors and a councilmember raised traffic and pedestrian-safety concerns.

Metro zoning staff explained the parcel consists of three underlying lots and an easement that restricts buildable width; staff measured the existing proposed building front at 37 feet where the underlying lot requires 54 feet of front facade, creating a 17-foot shortfall. Attorney Sean Henry, representing the property owner and operator interests, explained the proposal includes a walk-up window and patios on the north and south sides that provide active frontage even where the primary building face is shorter. Henry said an easement acquired by Metro in 1967 reduces the usable depth of the lot and constrains placement of building elements and parking.

Councilmember Sean Parker, whose district includes the site, told the board his main concerns from earlier hearings were traffic access and pedestrian safety. He said the revised site plan removes curb cuts on Gallatin and concentrates ingress and egress onto signalized side streets, and that the applicant added a walk-up window and patio seating to better support pedestrian activation. "The biggest improvement ... is concentrating that ingress and egress to side streets that are signalized," Parker said.

Neighbor Buys Harnessen, who lives three houses down on Delmas, told the board Delmas has a single route out of the neighborhood and that existing parking/activities at adjacent businesses can complicate sight lines and pedestrian movement. "If you make a left turn towards Inglewood, you can't see because of the way they're parking," Harnessen said, also noting events and donations at the existing lot can draw people and cars.

Applicant representatives said the new traffic signal at Delmas and Gallatin and the site’s queuing and parking layout should prevent drive-through stacking from spilling onto Delmas, and they suggested NDOT monitor signal timing after the business opens. The board discussed the sewer easement as a limiting hardship and the broader point that other, more intense by-right uses could generate equal or greater traffic impacts.

After deliberation the board voted to approve the variance, finding the lot constraints including the easement supported a narrow exception; members asked the council member to monitor traffic and suggested NDOT review signal timing if operational issues arise. The board recorded the motion carried and instructed the applicant to proceed with permit filings.