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Board grants parking relief but denies drive-cut and signage variances for proposed Dunkin' site
Summary
The board approved a variance to increase maximum on-site parking for a proposed drive-through restaurant but denied variances for driveway separation and signage after staff warned of pedestrian conflict points and traffic-safety concerns; approval of parking was conditioned on permeable pavers and a staff-level minor site plan.
The Board of Zoning Appeals partially approved a proposal for a new Dunkin' drive-through near West Third Street: members approved a variance allowing the developer to provide ten parking spaces instead of the UDO maximum of six, subject to conditions, but denied requested variances that would have allowed two curb cuts separated by less than the 100-foot minimum and signage larger than the mixed-use standard.
Staff found that the site can reasonably be developed with one compliant drive cut and that two separate curb cuts on the property would create additional conflict points between pedestrians and vehicles along the arterial. The petitioner, represented in person by Vic Patel with architect Nicoletta Scarlatis online, said the two drive cuts are needed for the drive-through operation, that the site is only accessible from the eastbound lane because of a median and that larger brand-standard signage improves wayfinding for eastbound traffic. Staff recommended approving only the parking variance (with four conditions, including that any parking spaces in excess of the UDO maximum be constructed with permeable pavers) and denying driveway-separation and signage variances.
Board members asked about measured distances (approximately 31 feet between the proposed eastern drive and the adjacent Long John Silver’s drive, about 70 feet to a second drive) and about options to use adjacent ground-lease parcels or to reconfigure circulation to avoid multiple curb cuts. The board adopted staff recommendations in a recorded vote: the parking variance was approved with staff conditions; driveway-separation and signage requests were denied. The board extended the meeting briefly earlier in the night to reach this case.
