Planning commission backs drive‑through at Mountain Boulevard with 14 conditions to limit noise, light and exhaust

The Jasper City Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of a special‑use permit to allow a drive‑through restaurant at 489 Mountain Boulevard South, a roughly 1.25‑acre parcel owned by Classic Elias Properties LLC. The commission's recommendation will be forwarded to City Council for final action.

Planning staff presented the location as part of a larger gateway master planned commercial center and noted the subject parcel is within the planned commercial component. Staff said the drive‑through is speculative and that no tenant had been confirmed. Staff recommended approval subject to 14 conditions intended to limit impacts on nearby residences and the adjacent single‑family attached development roughly 250 feet away.

Conditions recommended by staff and approved by the commission included: substantial conformance to the submitted site plan; a bypass lane and a minimum 12‑foot‑wide drive‑thru and bypass lane for vehicle maneuvering; a maximum 9‑foot driveway clearance; an awning or weather protection at the pickup window; measures to mitigate cooking exhaust and odors (for example, a scrubber or equivalent filtration system, subject to city review); directional, downward‑focused lighting with dimming to 50% between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.; limits on speaker volume so sound is not audible at nearby residences; business licensing and separate sign permits; and an acknowledgement that approval does not guarantee future infrastructure capacity during the city's ongoing temporary suspension on new connections.

Planning staff described the drive‑through layout as providing approximately 212 linear feet from entry to exit and roughly 140 feet of queuing (about six cars) with a bypass lane. Staff also recommended hours for the drive‑through be limited to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week; applicant Barry Elias said he understood the conditions and that he generally agreed to them but would seek council consideration for earlier morning hours if a tenant (for example, a breakfast coffee operator) requested them.

Commissioners asked about whether exhaust controls imposed at this location would apply across the rest of the PUD; staff said the requirement was specific to this permit given the proximity to sensitive residential uses but that the city could consider broader code changes in the future. The applicant and developer representatives said this portion of the PUD was entitled in 2021 and that utility connections for the commercial portion were contemplated when the master plan and site plan were approved.

The commission approved the staff recommendation by motion and will forward a recommendation to City Council.