The Richardson City Council voted unanimously to approve Zoning File 2425, a special permit to allow a drive‑through restaurant at 508 Centennial Boulevard, subject to three conditions the council added: the facility may have only one menu board; the menu board must use a directed speaker system (a Delphi display or an equivalent technology); and staff will report back to council one year after the business opens with monitoring data and any enforcement actions.

What the request was: the applicant sought a special permit for a drive‑through at an existing 5,000‑square‑foot building (vacant 3,000‑square‑foot suite) on Centennial Boulevard, west of Aldelia Road, adjacent to a townhouse development called the Towns of Buckingham. The site had been improved in 2018 with a second drive lane and other work before the zoning code change that later required a special permit for drive‑throughs; staff said the prior drive‑through rights were deemed abandoned because a prior tenant never established the use for longer than the statutory abandonment period.

Public concerns and applicant response: residents of the adjacent townhouse development and the HOA expressed noise concerns, proximity to rear yards, precedent for other drive‑throughs and late‑night operations. The HOA president and a resident spoke in opposition during the public hearing, saying their primary worry was speaker noise and the potential for future, similar approvals to cluster near the neighborhood.

The applicant and property owner responded that they had met with HOA representatives and offered commitments, including limiting the proposal to a single menu‑board lane and using a directed speaker/audio system that focuses sound into a vehicle rather than projecting broadly. The applicant offered a recorded demonstration from an existing Haraz location with the same speaker technology and said owners live nearby and would provide direct contact information to neighbors to address operational concerns.

Council action and enforcement approach: Councilmember Hutchenrider made the motion to approve with the stated conditions; Councilmember Corcoran seconded. Council discussion considered a variety of possible mitigations, including hour‑of‑operation limits, but staff recommended relying on existing noise and nuisance enforcement tools because the city’s nuisance code contains decibel‑based performance standards enforceable at property lines. Council directed staff to perform proactive monitoring of noise and to provide a one‑year report on complaints and enforcement activity; staff said they can take random decibel measurements and pursue citations under the code if the permitted use exceeds allowed levels.

Outcome: motion passed unanimously by show of hands. The action allows the coffee restaurant to proceed toward permitting and tenant build‑out with the stated conditions; staff will monitor compliance and report back to council one year after opening.