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Planning staff says Long John Silver rive-through plans clash with Heritage Crossing standards
Summary
A proposed drive-through restaurant at 400 W. Irving Blvd would orient the building and enter from the parking lot, place a drive-through lane along Irving Boulevard, omit required street screening and devote roughly 73% of frontage to queuing—exceeding Heritage Crossing limits; staff found no unnecessary hardship.
Abraham Sarria, a planner with the City of Irving, presented a request on Oct. 6 to rezone the Lane Jones Silvers property at 400 West Irving Boulevard from Heritage Crossing District (corridor mixed-use) to SP-1 to allow demolition of the existing building and construction of a 2,247-square-foot single-story restaurant with a drive-through.
Sarria said the applicant requests five variances from Heritage Crossing District standards: orienting the primary building front and entrance toward the parking lot instead of the street; locating drive-through lanes along West Irving Boulevard where drive-through lanes are not permitted; omitting the 3-foot vegetative screen between drive-through lanes and sidewalk; and allowing the drive-through to occupy approximately 73% of the lot frontage (code maximum 60%). Staff concluded there is no unnecessary hardship and noted the proposal prioritizes auto access over pedestrian connectivity, which conflicts with the Heritage Crossing District esign intent.
Commissioners questioned whether commercial design standards and pedestrian connectivity could be preserved. They compared the proposal to nearby examples (including a Starbucks that received similar variances through an SP process and later showed operational issues where queuing and parking conflicted) and asked staff to consider requiring additional landscaping, screening or design changes. Sarria said the applicant did not request variances to building-material transparency or masonry standards and verbally agreed to comply with commercial design-material requirements.
No public comments supporting or opposing the application were reported. The commission did not take a final vote during the work session.
