Eau Claire plan commission approves Take 5 site plan with parking cap, pedestrian condition

The City of Eau Claire Plan Commission voted 6-0 on March 3 to approve a site plan for a Take 5 oil-change at 3704 Gateway Drive, a redevelopment of a former gas station, subject to staff conditions that cap parking at 16 stalls and direct staff to attempt alignment of a pedestrian crossing with the adjoining 7 Brew property if feasible and ADA-compliant.

Planing staff presented the proposal and told commissioners the site — about 0.4 acres and zoned C-3P — would include three service bays and 17 stalls on the submitted plan, which exceeds the commission’s current parking allowance of 25 percent over the base number. Staff said the applicant had removed one stall from an earlier submittal but remained over the allowed maximum and that the commission could accept a parking agreement with the 7 Brew property or require the applicant to reduce stalls to 16.

Planner Mr. Petrie said the code counts bays inside an auto-service building as parking stalls and emphasized the commission’s discretion on shared-parking arrangements. “Do I professionally think they need 16 stalls? Absolutely not. Okay. I’ll just be very honest with you,” Mr. Petrie said during deliberations.

The applicant, Casey Scholes of Excel Engineering, said the parties intend a formal parking agreement with 7 Brew to account for employee parking at shift changes. “There is a parking agreement that’s gonna be set in place with 7 Brew and Take 5,” Scholes said, adding that 7 Brew can have “up to 7 to 8 at a shift change at a time.” Scholes told commissioners Take 5’s operation keeps customers in their vehicles while service occurs and that typical on-site dwell times are shorter than a full-service oil shop.

Commissioners raised pedestrian-safety and connectivity concerns because the proposed walking route from Gateway Drive crosses through 7 Brew’s drive-thru area and an existing berm with underground utilities makes a direct northern connection to Pearl Road infeasible without substantial work. Engineering staff noted a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) was underway for the corridor and that larger corridor improvements are being studied separately.

Commissioner amendments approved by the commission required the applicant to submit a revised plan showing no more than 16 stalls and asked staff to attempt to align the east-side crosswalk nearest Gateway Drive with a new crosswalk on the neighboring 7 Brew property if staff determines a north alignment is ADA-compliant and feasible. The motion and amendment were adopted 6-0 (Erickson, Felton, Holzman, Leonard, Wirthman, Helgeson voting aye).

The approval also included standard conditions described in the staff report: revised site plan materials addressing lighting to prevent off-site glare, landscape improvements in place of existing impervious surface, and any final engineering or grading and drainage details required by city engineering.

The commission’s discussion noted neighborhood traffic congestion along the Gateway Drive corridor and that the city is conducting a broader corridor study that may recommend driveway restrictions or turn-movement changes in coming years. Commissioners said they did not intend the pedestrian alignment condition to delay development if the staff review shows alignment is not feasible; staff was given authority to finalize details consistent with the commission’s direction.

Votes at a glance: the site plan for Take 5 at 3704 Gateway Drive was approved 6-0 with the conditions above.