Site Plan for Tim Hortons Moves to Council

A revised PUD (planned unit development) zoning and site plan for the Shell station and Tim Hortons at the northeast corner of Ann Arbor-Saline Road and Eisenhower Parkway received a recommendation of approval from Ann Arbor planning commissioners on July 16, 2013. The recommendation will next be considered by the city council.

Proposed changes to the supplemental regulations for this 1.44-acre site would allow for a drive-thru restaurant within the existing convenience store, where a Tim Hortons is already located. The project includes constructing a 109-square-foot drive-thru window addition and access driveway on the north side of the building. Access to the drive-thru lane would be off of the site’s existing entrance from Ann Arbor-Saline Road. The property is located in Ward 4.

A PUD had previously been approved by the council at its July 2, 2012 meeting, but without plans for a drive-thru restaurant.

If approved by the council, the drive-thru lane would be screened by a 30-inch high hedgerow, berm and landscaping, according to a staff memo. The plan also calls for installing a brick-paved pedestrian path from the Ann Arbor-Saline Road public sidewalk to the north entrance of the building. A paved patio area would be located in the center of the drive-thru loop for outside dining.

As a “public amenity,” the owner proposes putting in a 140-square-foot brick-paved area at the site’s southwest corner – near the intersection of Eisenhower and Ann Arbor-Saline Road – with two park benches and shrubbery. Some commissioners questioned whether anyone would use that spot, given its location next to heavy traffic. Wendy Woods, saying she had family nearby, indicated that there is a fair amount of pedestrian and bike traffic in that area.

The plan also entails building a new sidewalk “stub” from the south of the building, which could possibly be used in the future to connect to the Cranbrook Village Shopping Center located to the east of the site. However, planning staff noted that a sidewalk between those two parcels might not be viable, given the significant grade change. Nor have the owners of the shopping center given permission for such a connection.

This brief was filed from the second floor council chambers at city hall, 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow.