Sheboygan planning commission tables McDonald’s permit after residents, commissioners raise traffic, contamination and design concerns

The Sheboygan City Planning Commission tabled a conditional use permit application from Permit Solutions and McDonald’s for a proposed restaurant and drive-through at 1221 Erie Avenue after extended public comment and detailed questions from commissioners.

Residents said the site — formerly an industrial property — may require environmental review before redevelopment. “There does need to be a significant environmental review of what’s there before we start building on that,” Mary Lynn Donahue told the commission, urging a Phase I/II contamination study or confirmation that one already exists. Donahue also said Erie Avenue is heavily congested and that additional curb cuts could worsen local traffic.

Gina Caravo, who lives at 12th and Ontario, said a restaurant at the site would increase both vehicle and pedestrian traffic adjacent to a park and a recent walking-path investment: “There’s gonna be tons of trash… it just doesn’t seem like a good idea.”

An online speaker identifying herself as Amy Switzer and saying she represents McDonald’s asked the mayor to recuse himself, asserting a conflict of interest. The chair responded, “Well, that’s false,” denying the assertion during the meeting.

City staff told the commission the proposed fast-food use is permitted in the urban commercial zoning district and that the applicant had requested exceptions only for signage. Director Ziner described public conversation about the project as “online chatter” and confirmed the zoning allows the use but acknowledged the packet did not contain key materials some commissioners wanted, notably the traffic-impact study.

Patrick Bennett, the civil engineer on the project, told the commission a traffic study had been prepared and said the team would coordinate with staff to share it. “We did prepare a traffic study, and that has been shared with staff,” Bennett said, adding the developer intends to meet regulatory requirements for contamination review and site investigation if necessary.

Commissioners pressed for more detail. One member asked for recent crash history for the arterial intersections near the site; the city attorney said that data could be obtained from the police department and offered to provide it at the commission’s next meeting. Commissioners also raised operational questions about semi-truck deliveries, drive-through circulation, and whether the city’s planned road redesign (reduction from four lanes to two with a boulevard) had been accounted for in the applicant’s analysis.

Architectural concerns were also a focus. Commissioners noted the submitted elevations and site plan showed service doors and a trash enclosure that would be visually prominent on the Erie Avenue frontage. “I don’t feel that the dumpster enclosure is doing that accessory-structure job of being secondary to the frontage of the primary building,” one commissioner said, urging adjustments to reduce its visibility.

After the exchange, the commission voted to table the conditional use permit so staff, the applicant and the commission could review the traffic-impact study, obtain crash data from the police department, and allow the applicant to return with additional architectural refinements and operator-level delivery plans. The city attorney recommended tabling to allow a fuller record, including the traffic study and input from the city engineer and police, at the next meeting.

The commission took no final vote on the conditional use permit at this meeting; the permit will return to the commission after the requested materials are provided.