Planning Commission Defers Decision On McDonald�s Development

On Oct. 19, the Lakewood Planning Commission convened a special session for the pending McDonald’s development proposal for the Detroit Theater property.

On the agenda was McDonald’s request seeking the merger of two vacant parcels of land currently zoned for residential use (being the south 70 feet of the subject parcel) into one tax lo,t as an ingredient for its desire to obtain a conditional-use permit from the city to allow for an accessory parking lot in a residential district.

Without this necessary conditional-use approval for the south 70 feet (which also includes a portion of the proposed drive-thru), the McDonald’s development would already be a done deal and would have proceeded much more unimpeded without this additional piece of oversight from our fellow citizens on the Lakewood Planning Commission.

In a word, the Planning Commission said “Whoa!” As the meeting progressed, they recognized that much still remains unresolved and unanswered in regard to this McDonald’s proposal.

The Planning Commission has not said no to the project as a whole, but wisely chose to defer any decision on the conditional-use permit until the next Planning Commission meeting scheduled for Nov. 3--as they requested additional, more specific traffic studies be done by McDonald’s, and that the city look into traffic signal scenarios at both the Detroit/Woodward and Detroit/Hall intersections.

As the evening’s events unfolded, I could sense a certain amount of unease with the Planning Commission members, as their questions were not always met with clear or concise answers given the gravity of this development proposal. The members of Lakewood’s Planning Commission took this special session very seriously, and for that we should all be appreciative.

Once again, my fellow Woodward Avenue residents turned out in large numbers to express our concerns and apprehensions. At this meeting we were also joined by residents from Hall Avenue and residents from various other locations throughout Lakewood. In all, nearly 30 residents came forward to take a turn at the podium before the Planning Commission, as we presented our own unique perspectives, our own unique range of emotions and our own unique set of concerns. Yes, it was emotional, but that was but a small part of it--this is an emotionally charged development--we are talking about people’s homes and the quality of life we derive from them. People came forward with thoughtful, rational and meaningful concerns, grievances and proposed solutions--they did Lakewood proud.

The meeting began with a brief site plan overview presentation by Mike Lewis, McDonald’s Regional Real Estate Coordinator; it was pretty much the same song and dance that was trotted out at September’s Architectural Board of Review meeting. Speaking of the Lakewood Architectural Board of Review, after they gave conditional approval to the proposed McDonald’s building design and site plan, they went back to McDonald’s with a further condition that they alter the parking lot and drive-thru exits onto Woodward Avenue by adding “No Right Turn” signs and left-turn-only directional painting at each exit in an effort to better orient traffic flow back to Detroit Avenue. I would like to thank the members of the Architectural Board of Review for listening to the voices of Woodward Avenue residents by adding this condition to the proposal.

That being said, I shared with the Planning Commission our request and strong desire to take this significant development one step further by adding a fixed concrete curb as part of the directional painting as an additional assurance measure to better force that left turn back to Detroit Avenue and not have to rely on hope and a prayer that we count on the good will of people to abide by the “No Right Turn” signs and directional painting. It has been my observation, and many others can also attest to this, that the “No Left Turn” sign at the Lakewood Library at the Arthur Street exit is routinely ignored by library patrons as they take a left to head south on Arthur rather than turn right towards Detroit Avenue as the sign directs. We do not want the negative impacts associated with that scenario being played out on a much larger scale.

This may seem a trivial matter to some, but it means the world to us in our corner of Lakewood. I think that the emotions of this development are rooted in the quest to strike a balance between commercial development and residential amenity-- that human capital be on equal footing with commercial capital. We desire to achieve that equilibrium needed for Lakewood to grow into the 21st century in terms of meeting the needs of its citizens--such as providing some sense of assurance that measures will be in place to avoid adverse effects on residential property in the face of commercial development.

By adverse effects I mean traffic impact--the main topic of the evening as elements of the McDonald’s traffic study were given much scrutiny by Planning Commission members and residents alike. The traffic impact study was done by GDP Group, an Akron-based engineering firm, and paid for by McDonald’s to measure the current and potential post-construction traffic impact in and around the Woodward Avenue/Detroit Avenue intersection. All the data presented was based on three days of manual traffic counting that occurred on Sept. 20-22 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at four different intersections along Detroit between Edwards and Westwood Avenues; and by road tube counts along Woodward Avenue from Sept. 27-29; which verified residential concerns that Woodward Avenue is used daily as a “thru” roadway for vehicles traveling through the area to the tune of 2,000 cars per weekday.

The city has also reviewed the traffic study and finds its methodology typical of other traffic studies done on behalf of the city for prior projects. The McDonald’s traffic impact study also included a review of historical traffic data and found that volume along Detroit Avenue has not changed since 1992, with the average being just over 9,000 vehicles per weekday.

The traffic impact study reached several key conclusions and makes a number of recommendations--the most poignant being the conclusion that the proposed McDonald’s will have no adverse impact on the surrounding roadway network--while at the same time estimating that there will be approximately 400 total additional traffic trips generated to the McDonald’s during the peak morning and evening rush hours. That figure alone warrants an adverse impact in my estimation.

Speaking of warranted, it was determined that the traffic light at the Detroit and Hall intersection is not warranted based on present and projected traffic volume--in its place should be a stop sign. It must be mentioned here that the city is also toying with the idea of removing that traffic signal as part of its ongoing Detroit Avenue Streetscape Plan. It is also recommended that no traffic light be constructed at the Detroit and Woodward intersection, as it too is deemed not warranted--in spite of all the drive-thru traffic exiting onto Woodward at this intersection. The study also recommends the removal of the pedestrian crosswalk on the west side of the Detroit/Hall intersection, as it would impede the proposed driveway entrance on Detroit Avenue.

One conclusion that jumped out at me, and with a member of the Planning Commission as well, is that this study has rated the attempt (post construction) to make a left or right turn at the Detroit/Woodward intersection as sub-standard--degraded to a “Level E” intersection on a scale of A (being no-delay) to F (being a significant delay longer than 45 seconds). Presently the intersection is rated a “Level C.” The McDonald’s traffic study deemed this impact as acceptable and not adverse to the existing traffic pattern wholly on the basis that a traffic signal is not warranted for the intersection based on a single-day traffic count and Ohio Department of Transportation signalization guidelines.

This conclusion alarmed the Planning Commission and is one of the primary aspects of the study which they found to be inadequate, and left too many unresolved questions that need to be answered at the next Planning Commission meeting. Can a signal not be warranted for the good of the community? We are our own city; we have our own autonomy to warrant what is needed within our city limits and not be indebted to statewide statistical data or succumb to the overgeneralization of traffic study software. The human beings who reside here know what is needed, and can better define adverse commercial development.

Another aspect of the traffic impact study is that when the study was undertaken, and all the traffic simulations shown at the meeting, it did not take into account the fact that the current proposal calls for “No Right Turn” signs and left-turn-only directional painting at each exit onto Woodward Avenue in an effort to orient traffic flow back to Detroit Avenue. The Planning Commission asked that the traffic impact study be revised to include this aspect of the proposal and how it may adversely impact the Detroit/Woodward intersection.

The Planning Commission deserves our praise; they recognized that much remains unresolved for this development. They recognize that McDonald’s is not the face of Lakewood and that the pursuit of such development may irreparably harm and alter our city, the people who live in it and the democracy with which we govern ourselves. One of the tenets of future Lakewood development--that it not adversely affect residential property--guided them. The Planning Commission was right to defer this process until key components are resolved to our citizens’ satisfaction.

As Lakewood enters its second century, we find ourselves at a relative political peace at this time--a time that should not be squandered. A time that should foster an environment in which citizens, the mayor and city council, together with the expertise of our Planning Director and his department and our volunteer citizen Planning and Architecture Commissions pursue the preservation of what our city’s founders bequeathed to us--the inheritance of the streetcar era and the economic and lifestyle assets still in place from that era that define the architecture and function that differentiate our streets and neighborhoods from the evils of post-WWII suburban-sprawl development.

I hope to see as many of you as possible at the Nov. 3 Planning Commission meeting at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Auditorium. If we truly desire to empower our city with the best defenses and tools necessary to preserve and accentuate the Lakewood we already have, we need to insert ourselves within the process and play a role in the preservation of our Lakewood. “Truth between candid minds can never do harm” -Thomas Jefferson.

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 22, Posted 1:17 PM, 11.01.2011