The Zoning and Platting Commission delayed a decision on a conditional use permit for a drive-through at a proposed Panda Express off William Cannon Drive, after commissioners failed to approve the drive-through proposal.
The proposed Panda Express would be located at 7200 Springfield Drive, off of East William Cannon Drive, on a property zoned for commercial use.
“This lot has been proposed for over a decade now for commercial uses,” said Karen Wunsch, representing the applicant. “There are a number of other commercial uses that could go there, but what is triggering the CUP is the drive-through component of the restaurant.”
“The assumption is something is going to get built there. The question for us is do we want something with a drive-through to be built there?” Chair Hank Smith said, clarifying the scope of the commission’s decision.
Wunsch said that the site layout for the proposed Panda Express had been designed to minimize the restaurant’s impact on the nearby residential properties.
“There is thoughtful site layout consideration given. The building, the drive-through lanes, and the dumpster are all oriented furthest away from the residents and closest to William Cannon,” Wunsch said.
Charles Stevens, a resident who lives adjacent to the property, said that other commercial businesses are located a meaningful distance away from the residential neighborhood and that the proximity of the proposed restaurant to Hillcrest Elementary School has created concern.
“I understand that there are more people living (in the area) and there will be more people living out there, but the existing businesses are on the other side of McKinney Falls Parkway and not right behind a bunch of people’s houses,” Stevens said.
“Panda Express is incredibly unhealthy and there’s an elementary school right across the street behind our house as well and I wouldn’t want my kids eating Panda Express,” he added.
All the commissioners present expressed their disapproval of the drive-through use.
“As a body, we passed a resolution saying that there are certain commercial uses that we thought are incompatible with Imagine Austin corridors … and William Cannon is being expanded because it is part of the Imagine Austin Corridor set,” said Commissioner Lonny Stern, expressing concern for the impact a drive-through would have on transit accessibility. “I think that we should say no to a drive-through on a corridor like this and that we should be consistent so that we send the right message to (City) Council.”
Other commissioners agreed with Stern’s assessment.
“This does not go along with the city’s vision of that area,” Commissioner David Fouts said. “A driveway on a big corridor like that will be incompatible.”
“I think it’s important to remain consistent with the intentions of the (Imagine Austin) plans such as keeping drive-throughs off the corridors so we can facilitate further transit services as the area grows,” Commissioner William Floyd said.
“I didn’t realize the proximity to people’s backyards and I think the idling adds insult to injury for the people dealing with that incompatibility,” Commissioner Carrie Thompson said.
The commission said that they would not approve a drive-through for the location, but if the applicant wanted to use the conditional use permit for another use they would consider the request. The applicant requested a postponement to the Dec. 17 meeting, which the commission approved.
Photo made available though a Creative Commons license.
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City of Austin Zoning and Platting Commission: The City of Austin's Zoning and Platting Commission addresses issues of land use as assigned to it by Austin's City Code. It has sovereign authority, or the right to make final decisions on certain cases.
