Developers still oppose Mesa drive-thru regs

Nov. 7—Mesa has rolled back some of its proposed restrictions on new drive-thrus, but commercial developers at a Nov. 1 public meeting still found much to criticize in the package of zoning changes.

Mesa Planning Director Nana Appiah asked attendees to engage in constructive discussion and share only accurate information about what Mesa has proposed in regards to drive thru zoning, citing misinformation on LinkedIn and other social media.

"We are not eliminating drive-thrus," he said. "The target is not to eliminate drive-thrus."

Planning staff said their proposed zoning changes are instead aimed at limiting clusters of drive-thru businesses, mitigating their traffic and noise impacts and giving neighbors more opportunities to weigh in before new ones are approved near their homes.

In the backdrop of the conflict is the surging popularity of the eateries. The city said site plans for new commercial centers are coming with higher and higher numbers of drive-thrus, in effect creating vehicle food courts.

Attendees in the commercial real estate industry confirmed this phenomenon, telling officials in the meeting that they are seeing more and more prospective tenants requesting — and in some cases requiring — drive -thrus to complement their dining rooms.

District 6 Councilman Kevin Thompson said his constituents have complained about this trend.

"As District 6 has grown leaps and bounds with residential and manufacturing, the one key component that has consistently been missing is eating establishments," he said.

"The community has been very outspoken against the ongoing trends we have been experiencing, which has been an exuberant number of drive-thru fast food restaurants popping up on what seems to be every corner of the community."

Thompson joined District 3 Councilman Francisco Heredia in meeting with city planning staff earlier this year to give their concerns and request the city develop options for managing new drive-thrus.

At public meetings in September, many commercial developers made the case that all these new drive-thrus are coming in because there is public demand for them. They also said the early draft of rules capping the total number of drive-thrus at certain locations and other design requirements could hurt shopping centers and make certain parcels harder to develop.

A draft of zoning changes at that time included a maximum of two drive-thrus per commercial development or intersection, a change which seemed especially troubling to developers at the September meetings.

The city listened to the industry's comments and in October unveiled revised proposals that, among other changes, eliminated the one-size-fits-all cap in shopping centers and created instead a sliding scale of limits based on the size of the development.

The largest category of developments, 31 acres or more, could have up to six drive-thrus. City staff also pointed out that developers could apply for permits to exceed the standards in the new rules.

With the elimination of the cap at intersections, Appiah told attendees, intersections in Mesa could still have up to eight drive-thrus on its corners.

But for some developers, the modified proposals were still too restrictive.

"There might be a situation where you have a commercial or office group that supports 10 drive-thrus," an attorney for a real estate investor said. "Why wouldn't you want to give the development community that flexibility?"

Developers also worried about the prospect of having to go before city council more frequently for new drive-thrus.

Under the current proposal, those in the lightest commercial district, Neighborhood Commercial, and Limited Commercial, a more widespread zoning, would need a Council Use Permit, which requires approval from City Council, Planning and Zoning and the Design Review Board.

These rules would expand opportunities for members of the public to comment on new drive-thrus before they go in.

But for the commercial landlords, managers and restaurant franchise owners at the meeting, more public meetings just mean more time and money for applicants — which could scare away some prospective tenants.

Developers also complained that consumer habits and the restaurant industry are simply evolving, and commercial managers are having trouble finding higher-quality sit-down restaurants to fill space in shopping centers as some Mesa residents are asking for.

"Those aren't the users who are knocking on our door wanting to come on these small PADs," one commercial property owner said. "There are not a lot of sit-down restaurants coming to Mesa (Drive) and Southern (Avenue), Country Club (Drive) and Southern, Main (Street) and Lindsay (Raod) — I don't have a single one. I would love for them to come and they're not."

Appiah urged developers not to give up recruiting higher-quality businesses for challenging areas, saying the city and developers should work together to achieve the type of city residents want rather than settling.

"Our goal is to get those (quality) restaurants coming to Country Club and Main — coming to Southern. If (property owners) honestly desire to attract those sit-down restaurants, we believe that Mesa is a place where we can also basically be able to attract those users by working with you guys," he said.

Appiah has Thompson's full support for using the city's available tools to encourage the development community to work harder to higher-quality restaurants.

"I've asked developers time and time again to focus on bringing quality sit down restaurants to our community, but their marketing arm prefers to chase the low hanging fruit," Thompson told the Tribune.

"If the development community isn't going to listen to our community's needs and work to bring the quality restaurants that we see in other communities, then we will limit the number of fast-food establishments that can be brought in through an ordinance. This is no different than what we did a few years ago to stop the inundation of car washes into our community."

Heredia expressed a desire for the development community and city to continue to work together.

"As a parent myself, I understand the convenience that drive-thrus provide to our families, but I believe we can find a balance that enhances walkability, pedestrian activity and neighborhood aesthetics to meet the needs of all our Mesa residents," he said.