Architectural Board Of Review Gives Conditional Approval To McDonald’s:

In what has become an ever-common theme here in Lakewood recently, yet another standing room only crowd packed the auditorium at City Hall for the Architectural Board of Review meeting held to consider the proposed McDonald’s site plan for the Detroit Theater property.

Woodward Avenue residents turned out in large numbers, myself included, to hear from both McDonald’s Corporation representatives and the Architectural Board of Review about what may transpire on our street and our corner of Lakewood.

The meeting was called to order and the first order of business was rather mundane as we all sat through ten minutes of garage re-construction reviews before the McDonald’s delegation was called forward to present its proposal. There was an eerie and prolonged moment of silence (for the Detroit Theater perhaps) in the City Hall auditorium as the folks from McDonald’s spent a couple of minutes to queue up their power point presentation.

It should be noted that this was Architectural Board of Review Part II for McDonald’s Corporation as their initial site plan proposal was denied for failing to meet the historical architecture standards as set forth by the City of Lakewood and reaffirmed by this board. In affect, the board said come back with something better and we will talk.

McDonald’s Corporation brought in some of its ‘big guns’ to pitch their latest proposal to the Architectural Board of Review and in effect to the residents of Lakewood. As expected, the presentation was slick and crisp, as the Big Mac contingent set forth its new building design, lot design, greenspace (they kept calling it a park) complete with butterflies (seriously), landscaping, fencing, lighting, limiting storm-water runoff, sound and signage together with feel-good sustainability concepts and good neighbor assurances. For a moment, we were all transplanted to one giant Happy Meal ecotopia.

However, beyond the two-tone brick facade lies the drive-thru and its three – yes three – points of ingress and egress to and from Woodward Avenue. McDonald’s calls it two points of access (into and out of the drive-thru), but the traffic flow pattern as delineated on the site plan also allows for restaurant parking/patrons to leave the parking lot via Woodward Avenue – hence the three points of ingress and egress. Woodward Avenue is yet further impacted by the addition of three dedicated parking spaces adjacent to the proposed McDonald’s on the street. Speaking on behalf of Woodward Avenue residents, this is unacceptable and must be addressed firmly in the upcoming Planning Commission meeting.

I will admit that the building proposal itself was an upgrade over the initial building design, but it will never be mistaken for an architectural treasure, rather just a step or two above the standard utilitarian McDonald’s – it’s not bad or good - it just reeks of mediocrity and Lakewood deserves better.

As the evening progressed, culminating in the Architectural Board of Review’s conditional approval to the McDonald’s building and property site plan, the only serious objections raised by the board as part of their conditional approval were building and property signage issues and what the proper color and materials used for the perimeter fence should be. In addition, the board also requested as a condition that windows be added to the corner of the proposed structure in lieu of a brick wall. It was obvious to the Woodward Avenue residents that the impact and design of the drive-thru and its traffic flow burden placed on our street fell far down the list of priorities for this project review.

At the prior Architectural Board of Review meeting in regard to this proposal, a member of the board stated that one of the primary goals of this review process is “all about traffic circulation” – in that regard this board failed Woodward Avenue residents and the concept of residential amenity.

At this Architectural Board of Review meeting, a member of the board stated that “traffic flow is a Planning Commission issue”. My question to the board is what changed or transpired from one meeting to the next in regard to traffic circulation falling off the radar?

Mike Lewis, McDonald’s lead spokesperson for this proposal, stated that McDonald’s primary business practice is to capture the existing traffic flow along a particular street and he further acknowledged that they are not a destination type restaurant. Per McDonald’s Detroit Avenue traffic flow study, over 10,000 cars a day travel past the Detroit Theater property and it is their primary goal to capture as many of those cars as possible on a daily basis. The problem lies in the fact that if the proposed site plan is approved, Woodward Avenue will be inadvertently capturing much of the McDonald’s traffic to the detriment of our residents.

As previously mentioned, the board raised its most serious objection to the proposed size of the monument sign that McDonald’s depicted in its presentation to be located at the Detroit Avenue entrance. In this regard, I feel that the Architectural Board of Review played right into McDonald’s hands and fell for the manipulative tactics they use to make the McDonald's corporation appear to be willing and able to compromise without much of a fight.

The board fell for the show/stunt presented by the McDonald's contingent, as they claimed that they needed this massive and ugly 8-foot high, fire-engine red monument entrance sign as their dominant corporate presence display, knowing full and well that it would be universally rejected by the board. As soon as the board raised its objections to the size and scale of the entrance monument, low and behold, someone standing along the back wall of the auditorium sprang forward with an alternative concept drawing showing a much smaller signage monument to placate the board. It was theatrics designed to show that they are willing to willingly compromise in hopes that the board would gloss over other critical aspects, such as traffic flow and residential impact – and it worked.

After the meeting adjourned, I quickly sought out Mike Lewis, McDonald’s lead spokesperson for this proposal, and asked him to clarify a comment he made in response to my public comments to the Architectural Board of Review, that if in fact it was true that they had a prior site plan denied at the onset of this process by the Architectural Board of Review, and that plan had the entrance and exit for the drive-thru solely on Detroit Avenue, with no point of access to and from Woodward Avenue - he said yes. I asked him to re-confirm and he said yes again.

It seems that the Architectural Board of Review was deeply rooted, and dare I say fixated, on the concept of the new McDonald’s structure abutting the sidewalks along the corner of Detroit and Woodward, which, by the way, the Detroit Theater currently does not. I know it’s the board’s job to look at the big picture for the preservation of Lakewood and the qualities that make it an attractive and desirable place to live.

Having lived elsewhere, in places where no Architectural Board of Review even existed, I value our volunteer board’s service to Lakewood and the protective oversight and due diligence they bring to the preservation and planning process, but I feel they lost sight of the big picture on this project in regard to the overwhelmingly negative impact it will have on the residents of Woodward Avenue as they try to deal with a drive thru entrance and exit AND an additional parking lot exit, part of the McDonald's plan which every member of the board approved.

My greatest fear, aside from the obvious negative impact this decision places on the residents of Woodward Avenue, is that this ruling now establishes a precedent for future Lakewood drive-thru commercial development in which residential streets are willingly sacrificed in favor of the siting of a particular structure.

I, along with my many friends and neighbors on Woodward Avenue, feel that given the relatively small footprint of the proposed McDonald’s structure in relation to the size of the parcel, that there is ample room to both accommodate the building abutting the sidewalk of Detroit Avenue (as it architecturally should) along with placing the entrance to the drive-thru and restaurant parking off of Detroit Avenue; and having said drive-thru wrap around the back of the structure and exit back onto Detroit, on the other side of the building. This would preserve the urban architectural environment so justifiably important to Lakewoodites and the members of the Architectural Board of Review, as well as preserving the equally important quality of life issues for Woodward Avenue residents.

Councilman David Anderson eloquently stated the case on behalf of his constituents: that there is a need to more strongly consider and measure the impact of drive-thru business as it negatively impacts our residential amenity. This is the case not only with regard to the proposed McDonald’s, Councilman Anderson said, but also for proposed construction yet to come. The city does not want to be caught flat-footed as future development unfolds. We should all appreciate his leadership on this issue.

The elephant in the room, the obvious solution to this equation, is an outright ban on drive-thru business in Lakewood from a go-forward basis, allowing those that presently exist to remain. Every Lakewood resident that I have spoken with about a drive-thru ban thoroughly supports the idea – regardless of which  address they may reside.

If Lakewoodites truly desire to empower our city with the best defenses and tools necessary to preserve and accentuate the Lakewood we already have – the protection of our best economic and lifestyle assets being in large part the architecture and function that physically distinguishes our streets and neighborhoods from the doldrums of suburbia – taking up the cause of a drive-thru ban is path well worth taking. Do we have the guts and fortitude to pursue this worthy endeavor? This would help marginalize those people who want to knock Lakewood down because they think that’s the best way to make money. We far too often seem to pre-occupy ourselves with obtaining shiny new objects rather than accentuating and building upon the many great assets we already have.

As the evening drew to a close, Lakewood Planning and Development Director Dru Siley, made some terrific closing comments. He reminded us that the south 70-feet of the Detroit Theater property is not zoned commercial, but rather residential, and that a conditional-use variance would have to be granted to McDonald’s as part of the Planning Commission approval process. Apparently, it can also be revoked at any time due to traffic impact issues.

At this point, it appears that the Planning Commission may offer us a glimmer of hope in addressing our grievances and brokering a more residential amenity-centric solution on behalf of Woodward Avenue residents which would set the proper precedent going forward for future commercial/residential development scenarios.

Not to sound melodramatic, but I keep thinking about the last words ever spoken by Robert F. Kennedy, the night he won the 1968 California primary just before he was assassinated. His last words were, “And now it’s on to Chicago and let's win there.”

So, fellow Woodward Avenue residents and Lakewood concerned citizens, it's on to the Planning Commission and let's win there.

Chris Perry

My Family and I relocated to the City of Lakewood in 2008 to be near my Wife’s extended Family. We have two young children that attend Lincoln Elementary School.

I have over 25 years experience as a community organizer, political campaign manager, director of a non-profit, environmental and social/economic justice writer, lobbyist, demonstrator, non-profit board member and lifelong community activist and volunteer. I am passionate about economic and social justice, environmental causes and identifying and addressing the root cause of social, economic and ecological ailments that undermine our long-term prosperity and sustainability.

In my spare time I enjoy time with my wife and kids hiking, kayaking, gardening, traveling, enjoying all four seasons and exploring all that Lakewood and Northeast Ohio have to offer. I’m also an avid runner and have a passion/addiction for running marathons and 100-mile ultra-marathons.

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Volume 7, Issue 19, Posted 8:27 AM, 09.21.2011