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Commission recommends approval of McDonald’s drive‑through expansion, citing circulation and parking study
Summary
Leesburg Planning Commission voted to forward TLSP EX 2024-0013 to town council with a recommendation of approval to allow a second drive-through lane, a reduced parking count and co-located delivery/loading, subject to conditions and delivery-hour limits.
The Leesburg Planning Commission on June 5 voted to forward special-exception application TLSP EX 2024-0013 to the town council with a recommendation of approval. The application would amend a prior special exception at 335 East Market Street (the existing McDonald’s) to add a second drive-through lane, to reduce required parking, and to allow a co-located loading zone for deliveries.
Staff presenter Debbie Perry said McDonald’s has changed operations in recent years toward more takeout and mobile orders and that the proposed additional lane is intended primarily to improve on-site circulation and reduce queuing onto East Market Street. The applicant provided a parking study by Kimley-Horn showing that the proposed reduction to 30 parking spaces (down from a prior requirement higher in the prior special-exception approval history) and the retention of 37 interior seats will meet demand under current operation assumptions. The proposal contains 13 stacking spaces for the drive-through lane; staff recommended approval subject to conditions tied to the delivery hours, parking-study reliance and circulation measures.
The second requested modification would allow deliveries to use a co-located loading zone, provided deliveries occur between midnight and 5 a.m. and the outermost drive-through lane could be closed during deliveries to avoid conflicts. Evan Pritchard, land-use attorney for the applicant, said the change mirrors operational adjustments McDonald’s has made nationally and is intended to reduce queuing on to Route 7.
Commissioners asked about pickup-window operations, striping versus raised curbs for the second lane, and whether changes would push construction traffic or trucks into adjacent neighborhoods. The applicant said pickup windows will not increase in number and that staff will manage timing and on-site monitoring when necessary. No members of the public signed up to speak on this item.
A motion forwarded TLSP EX 2024-0013, the special-exception plat dated 05/22/2025, modifications 1 and 2, and the conditions in the 06/05/2025 staff report (as amended during the hearing) to town council with a recommendation of approval. The commission voted in favor during the public hearing; a roll-call tally was not provided in the transcript excerpt.
