Permit backed for new 24th St.-Ave. A eatery
Plan addresses circulation, busy intersection
The Yuma Planning and Zoning Commission gave a drive-thru restaurant at the corner of 24th Street and Avenue A its stamp of approval during a Monday meeting.
Samuel Vega, who owns a restaurant in El Centro, Calif., wants to open Las Palmitas at the west end of the shopping center in the space most recently housed by a salad restaurant.
The commission approved the request by Dahl, Robins and Associates, on behalf of Shaya Ragheed, for a conditional use permit for the drive-thru restaurant at 1150 W. 24th St., Suite A, in the Limited Commercial District.
The application included an exception request that will allow the drive aisle to encroach 3 feet and a small area encroaching up to 9 feet into the required 15-foot building and parking setback along 24th Street. The exception request, similar to a variance that reduces a dimensional standard, is due to the need for safe circulation and egress at this busy intersection, according to a report by Bob Blevins, a principal planner for the city.
Staff recommended approval of the permit and the exception request.
The shopping center, built in 1967, is currently divided into suites with medical offices, barber and beauty shops, and dog grooming. Yumiez Eatery recently vacated the western suite.
Blevins reviewed some of the history for that space, which was a bank with a drive-thru in the 1970s. In 1998, the commission heard a conditional use permit request for a drive-thru in this same location for Tooie’s Pizza and Subs. The panel denied the permit due to traffic circulation concerns.
In 1999, the commission heard and approved a new proposal with a different traffic circulation plan. Tooie’s had a service window on the west side of the building with a drive-thru canopy. Sometime afterward, the service window was eliminated and the wall “stuccoed.” The canopy remains to this day.
According to the staff report, the applicant met with city engineers to address concerns with the proximity of the property’s two entrances to the major intersection and determine safe on-site circulation. Traffic regularly stacks up at the intersection, limiting the ability of vehicles to exit this property safely. Consequently, a traffic circulation plan will guide vehicles through and out of the property, while still maintaining sufficient parking for all tenants of this shopping center.
Blevins said that the city did not receive calls or letters in opposition. However, during a June 18 neighborhood meeting, attendees expressed concerns with traffic, noting that they cannot make a left turn out of Chile Pepper and that traffic backs up and they hear accidents all the time. Neighbors asked what would happen if the drive-thru backed up. Vega, the owner, noted that the lane can hold 15 stacked cars and that the drive-thru would be the priority.
Chairman Chris Hamel raised concerns with the backside entrances for businesses and wanted to know if drivethru traffic would impede customers and employees from walking in and out of businesses. Blevins pointed out that the traffic plan calls for a wide turn, giving pedestrians room. Hamel noted that the drive-thru was used before and didn’t cause problems.
Vega said he would be resurfacing the drive-thru and parking lot. In addition, the parking spaces will be changed from angled to straight to allow more spaces.
Christopher Robins, agent for Vega, said that the restaurant will not generate more traffic than other retailers or restaurants with sit-down service. The restaurant will have 739 square feet of indoor seating area.
The commission, which has the final say on conditional use permits, unanimously approved the request.