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Planning commission approves Dutch Brothers drive‑through at Placentia Town Center amid traffic scrutiny
Summary
The commission approved a 1,025 sq ft Dutch Brothers with dual drive‑through lanes at the Placentia Town Center after staff and peer reviewers concluded on‑site stacking and a traffic management plan would prevent street spillover; commissioners pressed consultants and staff on queuing, left‑turn pocket capacity and signage.
The Placentia Planning Commission voted to approve a development plan review and use permit for a 1,025‑square‑foot Dutch Brothers coffee shop with dual drive‑through lanes at the Placentia Town Center (DPR 2025‑02; UP 2025‑03).
Associate Planner Leslie Whitaker presented staff’s report and the applicant’s traffic analysis, saying the dual‑lane drive‑through design accommodates stacking (staff described design capacity sized for up to 34 vehicles onsite and 16 vehicles per lane before merging) and that the project would remove 46 parking spaces from the center while leaving the shopping center with a total that exceeds the municipal code requirement. She said the project had been peer‑reviewed by the city’s traffic engineer and recommended approval with conditions including a condition (No. 10) requiring the applicant to address any on‑site circulation problems that emerge during operations.
Commissioners focused on operational details. Commissioner Navarro asked whether the plans and cueing diagrams accurately showed two‑way drive aisles and whether the design included automatic dimming and brightness controls for the digital signage; staff and the applicant confirmed dimming controls would be used. Dean Arizabal of LSA (the applicant’s traffic consultant) and the city’s peer reviewer, Rusty Beardsley, described the approach: intersection levels of service were measured for AM and PM peak hours, while drive‑through operations and queuing were evaluated against observed busy hours at comparable sites. LSA reported surveyed peak queuing varied by location (12–34 vehicles at observed nearby stores) and applied industry standard pass‑by reductions to estimate net trip generation (an estimated 51 net daily trips after reductions for this coffee shop).
Commissioners expressed concerns about the westbound left‑turn pocket on Yorba Linda Boulevard and the adequacy of the counting window for drive‑through peak demand; LSA said counting followed typical practice (two‑hour AM/PM peak counts for intersections plus drive‑through operation surveys to capture business peaks) and the city’s peer review found no Level of Service deterioration. The record shows a mix of caution and confidence: Vice Chair Rock voted no on the item, citing unresolved concerns, while a majority of the commission voted to approve.
John Caglia, the project representative from Dutch Brothers, told the commission the operator expects some customers will shift from nearby competitors, saying, “we're gonna be taking customers from Starbucks…so, we're basically just — it's a net 0 from a traffic standpoint.”
Action and next steps: Commissioner Evans moved to approve the DPR and use permit with staff conditions; the motion passed on roll call (Yes: Evans, Navarro, Smith, Chair Perez; No: Vice Chair Rock; Guerrero absent). The approval includes conditions requiring staff review of final plans, brightness controls per plan, and the traffic‑management contingency (condition 10) that obliges the applicant to resolve on‑site queuing that adversely affects circulation.
