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Council approves drive‑thru special‑use permit with noise mitigations and hours limit
Summary
A specific‑use permit for a drive‑thru restaurant that requested reduced landscape buffers and a closer speaker box was approved after the applicant committed to automatic volume control, a 12‑foot canopy buffer and no late‑night drive‑thru hours (10 a.m.–10 p.m.). Staff had recommended denial for the speaker box deviation but P&Z recommended approval.
Council approved a special‑use permit (SUP) for a drive‑thru restaurant that sought reduced landscape buffer width and a speaker box closer to adjacent residential property than the updated Unified Development Code permits.
Lucas Raley explained the parcel's constraints and said staff's recommendation was denial for the speaker box deviation because the UDC was updated last year to require speaker boxes at least 200 feet from adjacent residential uses. Benchmark Group's Nablas Ebrahim, the applicant representative, said the design incorporates several mitigation measures including automatic volume control (AVC), a 12‑foot high‑canopy tree buffer combined with an existing masonry wall and a 48‑foot separation from the drive‑through to the residential property line. He said the site is shallow and constrained by a large utility easement, which limits alternative drive‑through placements. Ebrahim told the council the planned hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
A council member asked about hours and Ebrahim responded, "10AM to 10PM," and that the drive‑through is expected to be light because most patrons will dine in. Given the mitigation measures and the site's constraints, the council voted to approve the SUP per the applicant request.
