Zoning Commission Denies Drive-Thru

Summary
On Tuesday, January 10, 2023, a public meeting was held by the OV Zoning Commission. The agenda item of interest to us and our neighboring associations was the discussion and possible action on four separate items regarding the property owner’s proposed site design for an office and drive-thru development located at the northwest corner of the Naranja Dr. and La Cañada Dr. intersection. The applicant was proposing the following:

ITEM A: Conditional Use Permit for the drive-thru
ITEM B: Removal of a 2006 Grading Exception condition
ITEM C: Conceptual Site Plan package for the development
ITEM D: Conceptual architecture for the proposed buildings​
 
A brief history of the NW Corner site was presented by the Town Planner, followed by a presentation by the developer’s representative. Two homeowner comments were presented opposing ITEM A, the drive-thru, on the grounds that it would be a safety and traffic congestion problem to an already congested intersection.
Four of the six commissioners also raised concerns about the additional congestion resulting from traffic flow in and out of the property and onto La Cañada or Naranja. The commissioners observed firsthand the traffic congestion at the intersection, noting vehicles backed-up a quarter mile on eastbound Naranja.

The developer’s representative failed to adequately address the commissioners’ concerns. With discussion ended, a vote was taken and the request for ITEM A: Conditional use permit for a drive-thru was denied. The vote was four ‘No’, one ‘Yes’ and one ‘Abstention’.

ITEMS B through D were dependent upon the outcome of ITEM A; with the denial of ITEM A, the remaining three zoning requests were also denied.

The commissioners all expressed the desire that the NW intersection property be developed, they simply didn’t see how this could be done with a drive-thru of any kind.
 
Next Steps
The developer has the option to appeal the zoning commission’s decision to the Town Council or propose a different design for this property.