Planning commission recommends rezoning three East Front Street parcels to C3 for proposed bank with drive‑thru

The Traverse City Planning Commission on June 2 voted to recommend that the City Commission rezone three parcels at 1026, 1028 and 1040 East Front Street from HR to C3, a change the applicant says is needed to accommodate a consolidated bank branch with a drive‑thru.

Planning staff summarized the request and noted that the city’s master plan identifies the area as a mixed or neighborhood‑center type place where a revised C3 district is within the plan’s range of recommended zoning. Staff also cautioned that the plan district lines were drawn more as guidance than parcel‑level prescription and that recent text amendments subject drive‑thrus in C3 to special‑land‑use review, meaning any proposed drive‑thru would face additional review and conditions.

Ian Wilson, who identified himself as representing the prospective end user, told commissioners the bank would consolidate two existing branches into one low‑volume weekday operation with a single drive‑thru and limited hours. He described the anticipated traffic as light and said the use would meet the city’s drive‑thru requirements and later special‑use permit process.

Commissioners debated whether the narrow application should prompt a broader corridor study or an overlay to address inconsistent zoning along the Garfield/Front intersection. Several members said a corridor plan or zoning rewrite would be the proper way to set long‑term expectations for the intersection; staff and others noted due‑process obligations that limit delaying or expanding a landowner‑initiated rezoning without a separate process.

Three nearby residents spoke during the public hearing. Steve Brown said he favored walkable, mixed‑use development but did not oppose a bank. Scott Hardy said the property has been on the market for more than a year and described the bank as a low‑intensity option given HR constraints. David Lavine urged caution about wholesale rezoning and said he feared that C3 could permit autocentric uses such as car washes or kennels unless those uses are controlled through subsequent approvals.

Commissioner Treadwell cast the lone no vote; the roll call recorded six votes in favor (including Commissioners Duri, O’Brien, Anderson, Swanson, Holtry and the supporting commissioner who spoke earlier) and one no, and the motion to recommend rezoning carried. The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the City Commission for final action.

Next steps: the City Commission will take final action; any future drive‑thru would require a special‑land‑use review under the revised C3 standards.