Aurora planning commission approves Dunkin' Donuts with drive‑through at 270 S. Havana

The Aurora Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday, Sept. 10, approved a conditional use permit and a site plan with an adjustment to allow a Dunkin' Donuts with a drive‑through at 270 South Havana, a former car‑wash site adjacent to an RTD property and a bus stop.

City planner Morgan Jennings told commissioners the application requests a conditional use for a drive‑through and a site plan for a new 1,000‑square‑foot coffee shop, and that staff “finds that the site plan with adjustment and conditional use meet the approval criteria because it is consistent with the applicable UDO standards.” The drive‑through would operate daily from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. with three to four employees at any given time, Jennings said.

Jennings described the proposed layout as a building sited along South Havana with one drive‑through lane, a walkway and crosswalk from the sidewalk to a pedestrian patio and a walk‑up window, landscaping including a street frontage buffer for the Havana Street overlay, and direct ingress and egress on the east side. An adjustment was requested to allow the drive‑through to be located between South Havana Street and the building because of the small lot shape and size. Jennings said staff supports the adjustment and that mitigation will include a screening wall along the drive‑through, the ordering board location, and an enhanced landscape buffer.

Doug Redmond, the franchisee applying for the Dunkin' Donuts, told the commission he is not the same franchisee that operates the nearby “I Love Havana” store and that he lives in Parker. “No, we are the I love in Havana store is owned by a different franchisee. And, let me also, I'm a resident of Parker,” Redmond said during the hearing.

Commissioners asked questions about the adjacent bus stop and pedestrian access; Jennings confirmed the bus stop will remain and that a walkway and crosswalk will connect the stop to the patio and walk‑up window. Several commissioners expressed support for redeveloping the formerly blighted parcel and said the landscaping and screening requirements addressed concerns about locating the drive‑through between the street and the building.

Commissioner Jechek moved to approve the conditional use for a drive‑through on the grounds it complies with the cited UDO standards; the motion was seconded (second not specified in the record). The roll call recorded approvals from Commissioner Juchek, Commissioner Busch, Commissioner Geyser, Commissioner Reilly, Commissioner Benkoff, and Commissioner Hogan; Commissioner Walls abstained. The conditional use passed with six votes in favor and one abstention.

Commissioner Jechek then moved to approve the site plan with the requested adjustment, with approval conditioned on resolution of outstanding technical issues before recordation and issuance of building permits; the motion was seconded (second not specified in the record). The roll call again recorded six approvals and one abstention. The site plan with adjustment was approved with the same 6–0–1 result.

Both approvals reference the Unified Development Ordinance and the Mixed Use Corridor zoning and are subject to the staff condition that outstanding technical issues be resolved before permits are issued. No public commenters signed up to speak on the items during the meeting.