Planning Commission Reviews City’s Drive-Thru Study

Lakewood’s 31 drive-thru windows were the topic of discussion at Thursday night’s planning commission meeting.

But it’s plans for a particular fast food restaurant’s drive-thru that brought out most of the residents in attendance.

After to plant the Golden Arches on the former Detroit Theatre property in April, have turned to to voice their concerns.

At the , the city’s planning and development department conducted a review of every drive-thru in Lakewood.

“My initial concern is over-population (of drive-thru windows),” he said. ”How much is too much?”

City employees in the city and compiled a summary of the applicable language in the current zoning code.

However, even if legislation were passed to change the zoning of fast food restaurants — and if McDonald’s decided to buy the property by the end of the year — there wouldn’t be enough time to enforce the new code.

Anderson said he would like to introduce legislation to city council by September, and hopes council will work with the planning commission crafting the changes.

“Time is of the essence,” he said. “This impacts a lot of folks in Lakewood — even if we don’t live on or adjacent to Detroit Avenue. We’re talking about our city’s future. We’re talking about the interface between commercial and residential (neighborhoods) for the next two or three generations in Lakewood.”

There are 31 drive-thru windows in Lakewood. Most are run by fast-food companies, but there are also drive-thru services for banks, pharmacies and the .

Dru Siley, the city’s director of planning and development, fielded questions from members of the planning commission.

“The focus, because of the conversation around McDonald’s, is on fast-food restaurants, but the reality is we have a variety of drive-thrus and drive-ins in Lakewood,” Siley said.

“Anytime we’re making a change to the zoning code, we want to make sure that we’re doing our due diligence, doing our research and making a change that we’re going to be happy about — one that’s going to be useful for a long time."

He added that it’s important that it doesn’t appear that the city is changing the zoning code to keep a specific business out.

that only attracts lawsuits.

“We want to make sure that any legislation we propose supports what we love about Lakewood,” Siley said.

Some residents attended the meeting to oppose McDonald’s moving to the Detroit Theatre property. The fast-food giant has not purchased the land, although it did to Lakewood’s Architectural Board of Review on July 14.

Lakewood resident Michael Gill said there are already several drive-thrus “within a spitting distance” of his Edwards Avenue home. He urged the planning commission to consider some changes.

“The things I like about this city are the things you hear about a lot — they have to do with quality of life, walking and riding your bicycle,” Gill said. “There are a lot of people who appreciate those things."

The planning commission tabled the discussion for its next meeting.