Planning commission approves Acoma property plan change to allow drive-through, with conditions

Lake Havasu City’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Jan. 21 approved a parking-and-common amendment that clears the way for a roughly 3,000-square-foot restaurant with a drive-through at 1060 Acoma Boulevard South.

The commission voted 7-0 to adopt Resolution No. 26-01, which amends Tracks 2287 and 2289 of the city’s parking-and-common master plan. The approval requires the development to "substantially match" the site plan in Exhibit A and to undergo design review to ensure compliance with city codes on driveway locations and parking, according to staff conditions presented at the meeting.

Neighbors and nearby business owners raised several concerns during a public hearing. Brian and Darlene Doherty, who own the house directly south of the parcel, said they largely support the project but urged the applicant to relocate or secure the dumpster and ensure trash containers are sealed so refuse and rodents do not affect adjacent yards. "We just would really appreciate it if somebody could help us minimize the trash," the Dohertys said.

Resident Rick Tomasello, owner of 2700 Sweetwater adjacent to the site, told the commission the common-parking opening would remove about four spaces that he currently uses and warned the change could exacerbate congestion at the Sweetwater–Highway 95 approach when nearby businesses are busy. Joe D'Amico, another nearby resident, said existing trash and noise associated with a nearby Maverick business have been "intolerable" at times and asked the city to act.

City staff and the applicant responded that some of the neighborhood complaints relate to other properties (including the Maverick), which must be handled by code enforcement. Development Services Director Jeff Tooneman told the commission that trash enclosures, gates and noise are governed by the city's development code and noise ordinance and that code enforcement can pursue complaints against existing businesses separately. "We can't do other stipulations on trash enclosures, because those are actually in the development code," Tooneman said.

Architect Paul Lehr, representing the applicant, said the parcel is about 0.69 acres and the design would reconfigure parking from an earlier plan that showed roughly 30 spaces to a layout with 21 parking spaces and stacking room for six vehicles in a single drive-through lane (12 if configured as a double lane). Lehr said the building will be at Sweetwater elevation and the site slopes down about four feet to the alley; a retaining wall and a six-foot screening wall are anticipated to mitigate light and noise toward the residential parcel to the south. "The building will be on the same elevation as Sweetwater," Lehr said, and the applicant will coordinate with Unisource on utility-easement constraints.

The applicant also noted that Public Works will not permit access from Acoma Boulevard because of the proximity to Highway 95; as a result the driveway will be placed on the northeast edge of the property and the project will begin utility and civil engineering work and notify ADOT for any required traffic analysis.

Staff conditions filed with the motion require (1) substantial conformance with the site plan in Exhibit A, (2) completion of design review to ensure code compliance for driveway locations and parking, and (3) recording any amended deed restrictions with Mohave County related to the shared parking agreement. Commissioner Joan DeZurro moved to approve the resolution with staff stipulations; Commissioner Gabriel Medley seconded the motion, which passed 7-0.

The commission did not attach additional enforcement measures for nearby unrelated businesses; staff reiterated that complaints about existing trash and noise at other properties should be directed to code enforcement. The commission closed the public hearing and moved on to administrative matters; the next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 18.