Planning commission defers Detour Bar alcohol permit after parking and neighborhood concerns

The Midland Planning and Zoning Commission deferred action on a Specific Use Designation (SUD) request that would allow the sale of all alcoholic beverages for on‑premises consumption at the Detour, 1708 Rankin Highway.

Staff presented the application and recommended approval, noting the business area is 3,870 square feet with a 3,361 square‑foot service area and proposed hours of operation and alcohol service from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. Alexis, a city planner, said the property's zoning is regional retail (RR) and that an SUD for alcohol is allowed in that zone. Two written objections were handed to commissioners shortly before the meeting and were distributed to the commission during the staff presentation.

Commissioners focused their questions on parking and neighborhood impacts. Multiple commissioners noted that parking compliance is checked during the building permit/site‑plan review rather than during the SUD process; Alexis said the building permit review previously showed the site met the parking requirements in effect when the permit was approved. Staff described the parking standard cited at the meeting for restaurant/bar uses as one space per four seats with a five‑space minimum plus one space per 100 square feet of kitchen area. A commissioner also said the staff report lists a building capacity of 258, and several commissioners said that, if accurate, that capacity raised questions about whether the existing lot provides adequate parking for bar customers and patrons who might park on nearby residential streets.

Commissioners also asked staff to research whether police‑presence conditions used on other SUDs (a requirement added for some recently approved bars) would be appropriate here. Several commissioners said the objections and the request for conditions merited a pause to gather incident report data and to verify how parking was determined at the time the building permit issued.

Commissioner Cisnega moved to defer the item to allow staff to gather parking and incident information and to evaluate whether conditions (including peace‑officer presence) are warranted; Commissioner Sparks seconded. The motion to defer passed 6–0.

The public hearing was opened and no members of the public spoke for or against the request at the meeting. The applicant listed in the staff packet is Alice Smith; the property owner listed is Russell Hoffman. Staff recommended approval but the commission deferred pending the additional information requested.