Committee directs staff to pre-zone Route 109 parcels for drive-through quick-service restaurants

The Wildwood Economic Development Committee voted on Oct. 20 to direct staff to pursue pre-zoning and prepare clear design standards for a group of parcels along Route 109 and Main Street to allow quick-service restaurants with drive-through lanes.

The motion, made by a committee member identified in the record as Joe and seconded by Matt, asked staff to "do whatever you need to do to pre-zone those appropriately," according to meeting minutes. The motion passed on a voice vote after discussion about design, access and market demand.

Committee members and staff framed the effort as a preparatory step to shorten review time for interested restaurant chains. Tom Lee, economic development staff, said the city provided Zaxby's with traffic counts and demographic data and that the chain had placed Wildwood "on the back burner" but remained a potential prospect. Lee said visibility from the highway and daily vehicle counts were primary site-selection metrics chains used.

City planner Joe Booney reviewed the parcels proposed for inclusion in an SR 10109 workplace subdistrict and said the intent is to create a set of predictable parameters — materials, signage palette and site-access expectations — that would speed review if a prospective tenant sought to develop a drive-through. "If we're going to promote these areas," Booney said, "we can set the standards up front so applicants know what will be approved." (Booney appears in the meeting record as a presenter on sign and zoning topics.)

Committee members pressed on likely impacts and alternatives. Some members urged more creative architectural guidance to avoid cookie-cutter results and to ensure Wildwood's Town Center character is not undermined. Others pushed to apply the same pre-zoning approach to other town-center parcels that are already developed but might be redeveloped over time.

The committee instructed staff to draft the pre-zoning language and an application packet that would identify design expectations, required materials and the administrative path for expedited review. Staff said parcels 5, 6, 9 and 10 in the memorandum are currently occupied and that the pre-zoning would apply primarily to parcels identified in the SR 10109 memorandum presented to the committee.

What happens next: staff will prepare zoning language and a developer-facing packet describing the allowed use, design palette and application steps. Any change to zoning or text amendment would move to Planning and Zoning Commission and then City Council for formal action.

Provenance: Committee discussion and the motion to pre-zone appear throughout the agenda discussion beginning at 01:08:50 in the meeting transcript; the vote and direction to staff are recorded at 01:20:40.