By 1808Delaware
When Powell City Council meets this Wednesday evening at 7:30 PM, it will consider Ordinance 2023-17, which would approve a combined Preliminary and Final Development Plan for the development of a new Starbucks café at the junction of Home Road and Woodcutter Drive. The proposal aims to breathe new life and opportunity into the northern part of a 4.317-acre parcel, an area that has remained dormant for years.
The applicant, an experienced property developer, is proposing to transform the 1.303-acre segment of the land. The intended Starbucks café is planned to be a one-story, 2,225-square-foot building featuring an appealing blend of brick veneer and two-tone vertical wood cladding materials on its exterior. The café is also designed to host a convenient drive-through and ample parking, with 30 spaces available and capacity for 15 vehicles in the drive-through lane.
Access to the site is proposed from the south, with a joint access easement off Woodcutter Drive. The site is also planned to incorporate two underground stormwater management systems, positioned beneath the surface parking, ensuring the environmental sustainability of the development. A dumpster enclosure is also proposed on the southeast corner of the site, with a 5.5-foot sidewalk leading from the main building and parking area.
The plan was reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission as a Sketch Plan on March 8. The Commission had concurred that the Combined Preliminary and Final Development Plan process was suitable for the project. After further evaluation of the combined development plan on June 14, the Commission recommended approval to City Council, contingent upon a few conditions.
These conditions include the addition of a 12-foot wide pedestrian easement along the Woodcutter Drive frontage for future sidewalk or multi-use trail, and the restriping of Woodcutter Drive to provide a left-turn lane with 75-feet of storage and a 50-foot taper. The applicant has agreed to incorporate these conditions into the site plan, promising to fulfill the proposed enhancements.
Despite being a smaller employer, the Starbucks café is envisioned as a beneficial addition to the area designated as an Employment Center on the Future Land Use Map. The café is expected to provide jobs, serve as an amenity to the employment areas surrounding the site, and fill a gap in the retail sector currently absent in the Home Road/Sawmill Parkway market.
Financially, the development will be required to pay a Recreation Fee of $4,650 per acre, with an estimated total cost of $7,123.75 in fees for the project.
After a comprehensive review, the staff has recommended approval of Ordinance 2023-17 at the second reading/public hearing on July 18.
Source: City of Powell
