The Dunwoody City Council, at its Dec. 1 meeting, refused to grant a Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) that would allow drive-through service at a proposed fast-food restaurant on Ashford Dunwoody Road.
Raising Cane’s is petitioning for the SLUP in order to construct a 2,900 square-foot restaurant with double-drive-through service lanes on a 1.56-acre site at 4570 Ashford Dunwoody Rd. The site formerly housed a bank and has been vacant for about two years.
The council had already approved a zoning change from O-I (Office-Industrial) to PC-1 to allow for a restaurant as an accepted use.
A staff memo summarizing the SLUP request said that it recommended the drive-through application be denied for a variety of reasons, including concerns about the proximity of its curb cut to a nearby McDonald’s, the impact on the egress and ingress at a nearby hotel, and the amount of traffic it would attract on an already-crowded corridor. The Dunwoody Planning Commission had voted at its September meeting to recommend denial of the application.
Le Meridien Hotel’s Matt Munoz has consistently insisted that guests at the adjacent hotel would be adversely affected by the proposed drive-through.
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Raising Cane’s representatives said the group did an extensive traffic study, using simulated data and representative data from the company’s Buford location. They said the studies show that traffic disruption would be minimal because of protocols that would be put into place at peak hours and during the first weeks after opening.
Council Member John Heneghan said the drive-though lanes “would be a significant detriment to the hotel, and therefore based on that, I am going to vote to disapprove the measure.”
Heneghan and other council members emphasized that the restaurant could open without drive-through service, and that the denial has nothing to do with wanting or not wanting a Raising Cane’s in the area.
Stacey Harris made a motion to deny the application, with Joe Seconder seconding it. The denial passed 6-1, with Catherine Lautenbacher the lone dissenting vote.
Raising Cane’s officials say that stand-alone restaurants are not ideal for its business model, as drive-through service accounts for the majority of its revenue.
In other action, the council:
• approved on consent agenda funding to complete additional design coordination for the Chamblee Dunwoody bridge enhancements over I-285;
• awarded a contract with Croy Engineering for right-of-way acquisition services for the Happy Hollow Sidewalk Improvement Project;
• discussed potential speed limit changes in several areas of the city, including Ashford Dunwoody and Chamblee Dunwoody roads;
• held a public hearing on an application that would allow a SLUP for a Zaxby’s drive-through on 125 Perimeter Center West. The council will take up the measure at its next meeting.