Taco Bell tries location again

Revised plan seeks to address traffic concerns at Diamond Centre spot

Taco Bell is back in pursuit of a location in Mentor’s Diamond Centre.

The chain in March proposed building a restaurant with a drivethru window at 9490 Diamond Center Drive, behind McDonald’s. However, the city Planning Commission narrowly voted down the drive-thru portion because of traffic circulation concerns. A conditional-use permit request for the outdoor patio was dismissed without prejudice, and the preliminary site plan was tabled.

On July 6, the Commission will consider a similar proposal.

“They revised the site plan to have a split right-in and right-out (westerly access), which aligns better with the drive-through; and a traffic impact study and revised building elevations,” Planning Administrator Aric Spence said.

In addition to requiring site plan and CUP approval, a minor subdivision application must be submitted to create a separate parcel for the restaurant.

Per city code, “no application for a conditional-use permit which has been denied by the Commission shall be submitted by the applicant in the same or modified form until the expiration of one year from the date of denial, except on grounds of newly discovered evidence or proof of substantially changed conditions which the applicant could not have reasonably anticipated

prior to the denial of the application, as determined by the Commission.”

“That will be up to the Commission to consider the new information submitted,” Spence said.

The westerly drive currently is a two-way unrestricted access, and the easterly drive aligns with Emerald Court to the north and has a traffic signal. The administration recommended the westerly drive become right-in, right-out because of the difficulty in making a left turn onto Diamond Centre.

The administration also is recommending that the turning radius of the west side of the right-out access drive be increased to discourage left turns out of the site.

The traffic impact study indicates that the existing westerly drive operates at an unacceptable level of service “F.” Implementation of the movement restrictions increases the level of service to “B.”

“The study concludes that the proposed Taco Bell is not anticipated to have an adverse impact on the surrounding roadway network, and will provide adequate accessibility to and from the site under the projected traffic conditions,” Spence said.

The site plan proposes a sign be installed at the east side of the drive-through directing customers, “To Heisley Road Turn Right.”

Thirty-five parking spaces would be lost to the project, leaving 120 for Trask Towers shopping center to the east. The parking still will exceed the city’s maximum requirement of 72 spaces.

The 2,170-square-foot Taco Bell building — on about half an acre — would seat 42 customers. The proposed hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 7 a.m. to 4 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. The restaurant will have about eight employees per shift.