Planning board recommends approval of PUD amendment to allow drive‑through coffee building at Southeast Interchange

The City of New Smyrna Beach Planning & Zoning Board on Nov. 4 voted 6–0 to recommend that the City Commission approve the third amendment to the Southeast Interchange Complex planned unit development, clearing the way for an 800‑square‑foot drive‑through coffee building on the PUD’s last available lot.

City planning staff told the board the roughly 1‑acre parcel sits at the southeast corner of State Road 44 and 95 and has constraints including wetlands and an access easement; the amendment would move the easement, preserve wetlands on the southern portion of the site and permit a building configuration with drive‑through lanes that requires a larger-than‑planned setback and a wider bypass lane. Staff described mitigation measures that include additional landscaping within the required 35‑foot buffer and a proposed 4‑foot opaque screen to obscure queuing cars.

The applicant, Paul Hollow, said the ground‑lease tenant is a regional coffee franchise that operates primarily as a drive‑through. "It's not really a direct competitor of a Starbucks," Hollow said, explaining the operation will have limited hours and no indoor seating. Staff noted the building is about 800 square feet and the drive‑through would widen a 14‑foot standard lane to about 28 feet for a bypass/turn lane.

During public comment, Cindy Smizak urged the board to preserve the PUD’s vernacular design requirements and to require landscaping and screening that will better conceal vehicle queues. "Please consider not just tossing out a requirement that's in the PUD to have this look like a coastal building," she said.

Board members and staff discussed sign height (the PUD allows an 8‑foot monument sign), planting sizes and whether the tenant’s signature color could be toned down. The applicant said he would ask the tenant about color changes and staff recommended the board add a recommendation that the City Commission consider color adjustments; the final site plan and any additional design details will be reviewed later in the site‑plan process and before the city takes final action.

By recommending approval, the board advanced the amendment to the City Commission with the record of tonight’s public comments and the board's suggested condition that the commission consider tenant color changes and accept the proposed landscaping and 4‑foot screen. The commission will make the final decision on adoption of the amendment.