Planning panel approves drive‑thru coffee kiosk after extended traffic debate

The Farmington Hills Planning Commission on March 19 approved a special‑use site plan for a prefabricated 510‑square‑foot drive‑thru coffee kiosk at 27900 Orchard Lake Road, finding that revised site design and a traffic‑study‑recommended median (“pork‑chop”) adequately addressed key safety concerns raised by neighbors.

Staff reminded the commission that the project previously received a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals to permit a drive‑thru without indoor seating; planning review was required because the applicant requested further waivers and site adjustments. Proponent Reed Cookie of Stonefield Engineering described SevenBrew’s operating model: a small prefab kiosk with two drive‑thru lanes, app‑based ordering and rapid throughput. He told commissioners deliveries would use small vehicles and that the applicant had revised the design to eliminate left‑out egress to Orchard Lake Road and add a median (pork‑chop) to prevent hazardous left turns.

The public comment period was focused and at times heated. Nearby business owners and residents warned that closing the left‑out could lead drivers to use adjacent parking lots or cut through neighboring property to reach 12 Mile Road, potentially creating new conflicts. One neighbor said, “It’s easy to anticipate that happening as it happens every day of the week…with the gas station,” and asked how the city would enforce circulation if post‑construction operations caused unanticipated impacts.

Staff and engineering consultants responded that the revised traffic study analyzed turn movements and concluded the proposed island and left‑out closure reduce the most hazardous movements; engineering staff reported they had reviewed the study and indicated the revisions satisfied their concerns. Several commissioners pressed for enforceable conditions and suggested including a condition that would require an additional traffic study and mitigation if actual traffic exceeded study projections.

The commission approved the site plan with conditions that require the pork‑chop median to be installed, additional on‑site circulation signage and striping, delineated employee parking separate from stacking, and administrative review of final lighting and landscape details. The motion also accepted the applicant’s use of existing evergreen trees to meet parking‑lot landscape requirements and waived the outdoor seating requirement based on the applicant’s operational model.

Vote: roll call recorded support with one commissioner opposed; Chair announced the motion passed 7‑1.

Next steps: the applicant must finalize plans and coordinate the pork‑chop design with the city’s engineering division; staff and the city traffic engineer retain authority to require further study and mitigation if observed traffic patterns materially deviate from the traffic‑study projections.