Council urged to rethink zoning change for drive-thrus

City council held a public hearing on a series of ordinances changing the zoning code before its regular meeting Monday at council chambers, on the city building’s third floor.

Proposed by the city’s Planning Commission, the changes deal with three parts of the zoning code: Accessory structures to include accessory energy systems; neighborhood business zone and general business zones to permit outdoor dining; and eating and drinking establishments with a drive-in or drive-thru must be at least 100 feet from a residential zone.

Greg Lavelle asked council to not change the zoning code from 200 feet to 100 feet as he lives near a drive-thu that’s currently 200 feet from a R1 zoning district (single-family residential).

“To make it 100 feet from a R1 and establish that as the law in the code, I think would drive a lot of R1 residents who live right next to those businesses out of the neighborhood like they already have in our neighborhood,” he said. “So I would highly recommend that you keep it at 200 feet and not 100 feet.”

Barbara Stout, who lives on East State Street, asked that the city keep the code the way it is, as someone can apply for a variance if they want to be closer to a residential area. She argued that not all drive-thru businesses are created equal, and some could be much more disturbing to residences than other ones.

“I would say not to change it from the 200 to the 100 because certain kinds of drive-thru businesses are going to create more traffic and more of a clogging situation than other drive-through businesses,” Stout said. “So I think it’s done on a case by case basis.”

Council Member Alan Swank, 4th Ward, talked about the Tim Horton’s on East State Street. He said it was an example of why council should carefully consider the change from 200 feet to 100 feet for a drive-thru.

If Tim Horton’s moved across the street, butting up against an R1 zone, “because of the volume of traffic and the noise associated with it, it would be a bit of an encumbrance on the neighborhood,” he said.

Currently a proposed Starbucks and Chipotle location is going through the city’s procedures to get approval to built.

“They would be within, I believe, 100 feet of an R1 zone,” Swank said. “Or a second place would be next to Napa Auto Parts on East State Street, there at Strathmore Boulevard. It’s a very vacant, very valuable, high-visibility lot. Move that Tim Horton’s over there and it’s a problem in the neighborhood. At 200 feet, it probably is, but a hundred feet, it really is.

“If you’ve ever been down there during the day, they line up 15, 16, 17 cars deep and it’s continuous. It’s a great business. It really is. Wish I had stock in it,” he said with a laugh. “But I think we might want to, when we come up for next reading, take a look at the 100 versus 200, which seemed to have worked pretty well for many, many, many years.”

In regards to changes allowing outdoor dining, Council member Solveig Spjeldnes, 1st Ward, summarized an email from John Lefelhocz.

“He would like us to consider defining what dining means,” she said. “Does that include breakfast and lunch, or is that exclusive to one meal or another?

“And then he said he’d like to see a provision to require litter control by those dining establishments. So, you know, if people mess up, they’re also responsible for cleaning up whatever their customers leave behind. And that outdoor seating not exceed a percentage of the indoor seating to help reduce parking strain.

“And the fourth item is that no outdoor dining facility shall operate between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. each day Sunday evenings to Friday mornings, or between hours of midnight and 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday mornings, matching the noise ordinance hours. He requested that we take that into consideration.

“I personally think that those seem like good ideas to me, so I’m hoping that we’ll think about that,” Spjeldnes said.

Related to this proposed change, LaValle asked whether the city’s noise ordinances would be enforced when it comes to drive-thrus and outdoor dining.

Sarah Grace, at-large council member who introduced the ordinances changing the code, noted that if called, the Athens Police Department would enforce the noise ordinance.

Also during the meeting, several residents questioned part of the proposed zoning change that involves accessory structures related to alternative energy source, such as solar, wind and geo-thermal.

Lavalle asked whether someone could have a windmill in their backyard as an alternative energy source and what regulations will be in the code.

Grace noted that there is specific language regarding solar and wind-powered alternate energy systems (AES) as to where they are located on the property.

“AES shall be designed in such a manner as to have minimal impact to residents public areas, including city parks, streams, creeks and rivers,” she read from the proposed code. “Wind-powered AES shall not be placed in any legal easement or right of way, location or placed in any stormwater conveyance system that would in any manner impede stormwater runoff. Appropriate safety/warning signage concerning voltage shall be placed at ground mounted devices, equipment and structures. All electrical control devices associated with the AES shall be locked to prevent under unauthorized access or entry. The permit for wind powered AES shall include as a minimum standard manufacturer’s drawings and engineering specifications of the turbine structure, power base and paddings.”

Mayor Steve Patterson noted that windmills would have to comply with city ordinance limiting how high buildings can be.

“If there is concern that there’s gonna be a 300 foot structure in the backyard, if someone is going to endanger the property next door, that’s just not gonna happen,” he said.

Safety-Service Director Andy Stone noted that during a previous meeting, someone on council asked whether a ground-mounted solar system would be allowed in the city’s historic overlay zone.

“If the Historic Preservation Commission voted to approve a certificate of appropriateness, they could apply for a variance from the (Board of Zoning Appeals),” he said. “It’s just that added level of oversight that comes from the preservation commission in that particular overlay zone.”

Mary Abel asked council who is part of the Wellhead Protection Team that is named under the geothermal heating and cooling parts of the proposed alternate energy systems.

The team is a group of individuals that the city administration has selected to enforce Title 39, which allows the city to regulate the source water protection area, Stone said.

“Right now the Wellhead Protection Team includes the service-safety director, the deputy service-safety director, the engineering public works director, a representative from the Athens City-County Health Department, the water lab technician, and the water plant manager,” he said.

The source water protection area is a delineated area, that’s a zoning overlay. Title 39 regulates activities inside that area, Stone said.

A final reading of the ordinances will take place at city council’s meeting on March 6. Is approved, it will take 30 days before the zoning changes take effect.