Planning Commission deadlocks on Starbucks drive‑thru zoning change; no recommendation sent to City Council

The Hayward City Planning Commission on May 22 considered a zoning text amendment to allow drive‑through restaurants and coffee shops in the Air Terminal Commercial (ATC) zoning district, together with a conditional use permit and site plan review for a proposed two‑story mixed‑use building at 22101 Hesperian Boulevard that would include a Starbucks drive‑through on the ground floor and small office suites on the second floor. After discussion the commission was evenly split, producing no recommendation to City Council.

Proposal details and review: Senior Planner Steve Kowalski presented the application. The proposed mixed‑use building would place a roughly 2,345‑square‑foot Starbucks on the ground floor and a 1,912‑square‑foot second floor divided into four small office suites. The building would add 16 parking spaces directly outside the building and rely on reciprocal access to parking in the adjacent Home2Suites by Hilton and the neighboring business park. The drive‑through lane is shown entering from SkyWest Drive so that queuing would be directed away from the busier Hesperian Boulevard right‑of‑way.

Zoning text amendments requested: Staff said five minor code changes are needed: amending the ATC permitted‑uses list to allow drive‑through restaurants and coffee shops subject to a conditional use permit, and modifying several citywide drive‑through regulations (detailed in the staff report) to address circulation and screening. Staff found the proposal consistent with applicable goals and policies in the General Plan and recommended forwarding the amendment, CUP and site plan review to City Council with a recommendation for approval and the conditions in the staff report.

Mitigation and conditions: The project’s traffic analysis recommended red‑curbing a section of SkyWest Drive to prevent queueing on the public street; staff included this and other standard conditions addressing hours of operation, trash enclosure design, separate collection of recyclables and organics, and requirements for signage and building permits. The applicant said the trash enclosure would be self‑contained and that the hotels’ and properties’ reciprocal parking easement would be used to meet parking demand.

Points of debate: Commissioners asked about parking sufficiency if the hotel and office park are both busy, the potential for future drive‑throughs on the nine ATC parcels, architectural treatment and signage, site security and whether Starbucks would replace or supplement existing nearby Starbucks locations. Commissioners also raised concerns about concentration of Starbucks locations in town and possible economic impacts on local restaurants. Supporters and opponents were allowed to speak; no online Zoom commenters were recorded for this item.

Vote and outcome: Commissioner Stevens moved to recommend approval and Commissioner Hammond seconded. The commission vote was 3‑3 (Hammond, Stevens and Chair Hardy in favor; Goodbody, Lowe and Myers opposed), producing a tie. Under the commission’s rules a tie results in no recommendation being forwarded to City Council; the matter will proceed to council with the commission’s tie recorded.

What happens next: Because the proposed conditional use permit depends on amending the zoning code for the ATC district, the Council will need to consider the text amendments and the CUP/site plan review. If Council approves the zoning changes and the CUP, the project may proceed to building permit review subject to the city’s standard permit and inspection requirements. The commission’s split left open key policy questions for council consideration, including whether to broaden drive‑through allowances and how to balance hotel/airport‑area commercial uses with pedestrian‑oriented land‑use goals.