Board defers decision on drive-through at 5943 Hixson Pike to allow site plan

The Chattanooga Board of Zoning Appeals voted to continue consideration of a special exception for a drive-through at 5943 Hixson Pike to the August meeting, after members said they needed a site plan with dimensions before making a final decision.

Clint Wolford, the property owner, said he intends to sell the lot to a commercial lender and that prior plans had included a permitted drive-through on the site. Lee Harper of Hudson Commercial Real Estate, appearing with Wolford, said he believed the rendering shown to the board was representative but could not speak for the prospective buyer.

Staff told the board the property had previously been zoned C-2 (which allowed drive-throughs) and that the new CC zoning requires a special exception for drive-through uses. Staff also reviewed the special-exception review criteria and noted the site is within a commercial corridor and adjacent to other drive-through and commercial uses; staff recommended approval subject to the usual building- and drive-through-permit standards at plan review.

Multiple board members said that approving a special exception without a site plan could force conditions that a buyer might not accept, or that the board would be evaluating only a rendering rather than a definite layout. Board member Manuel moved to continue the case to the August meeting to allow the applicant time to submit a site plan; the motion carried by recorded vote with a majority of members present. The clerk announced the case is deferred to August.

The board also noted that, if the owner or buyer preferred a vote today and were willing to have approval conditioned strictly on the plans submitted, the board could consider that route; the owner chose to request the continuance to avoid risking a denial that would trigger a one-year reapplication waiting period.