Belmont council defers Saki Express rezoning after residents raise safety concerns; staff requires traffic study

Belmont City Council on Sept. 2 declined to waive a traffic-study requirement and agreed to defer a zoning decision for Saki Express until a Transportation Technical Memorandum (TTM) can be completed and reviewed at a Nov. 17 workshop.

Staff planner Chester Jones and the city’s senior transportation planner, Reagan, told the council the proposed drive‑through restaurant on parcel 186572 would likely exceed the municipal thresholds that require a traffic analysis. Reagan described the determination as conservative but grounded in industry standards for trip generation: “our final determination is that the site would trigger the traffic study requirement.”

The applicant offered transaction records from an existing Belmont store and argued those counts likely overstate vehicle trips; the applicant’s representative told the council that commissioning a study would take “2 to 3 months” and cost “$10,000 to $15,000.” Planning staff and transportation staff disagreed that that evidence alone eliminated the need for a scoped study.

Multiple residents from the adjacent Adams Bluff neighborhood urged the council to require a study before approving a conditional rezoning. Tim Becker, who lives adjacent to the Lakeview Farms area, framed his concern as safety and timing of infrastructure: “There were certain things that were supposed to be put in place before this development actually took hold… This is really more about safety and considerations for people.” Other commenters warned that 6th Street already functions as a cut‑through and would be further strained by pass‑by and new trips from Wilkinson Boulevard.

Councilmembers debated whether to require a full Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) or the smaller TTM. Staff recommended a TTM because it allows a focused scoping conversation with the city, NCDOT and a consultant and typically costs less; the city estimated a TTM could be completed in three months and commonly ranges from about $15,000 to $25,000 depending on scope. Several councilmembers said they were unwilling to approve the rezoning without seeing study results.

Motion and next steps: Councilmember Jason Rumpfel moved to require the traffic study and defer the rezoning until the Nov. 17 workshop; the motion carried 4–1. The council directed staff to scope the study in consultation with the applicant and requested that the police department consider an updated local traffic/speed review to run in parallel with the TTM.