Council delays decision on Culver's drive‑through after prolonged traffic and parking concerns

Farmington Hills City Council on Feb. 23 postponed consideration of an amendment to Planned Unit Development 12/2014 that would allow a standalone Culver's drive‑through at the 12 Orchard Shopping Center, saying the project needs clearer traffic and parking plans before the council can vote. The postponement was approved unanimously and rescheduled for the April 13 council meeting.

The public hearing and applicant presentation stretched more than two hours as council members, planning staff and traffic engineers examined circulation, parking counts and curbside queuing. Charmaine Kettler Schmalt, director of planning and community development, told the council the proposal seeks deviations from current B‑4 zoning that would put drive‑through facilities and menu/order boards closer to the 12 Mile right‑of‑way than current setback standards allow. The plan also relies on shared use of the plaza's parking and a letter of intent from the plaza owner to require employees to park in the rear lot and to update rear lighting to meet current photometric standards.

The applicant's team said the project would add approximately 65 cleaned and restriped spaces in the rear, offsetting a loss of about 64 existing spaces and resulting in a net gain of roughly one space. The project's traffic consultant said field observations and revised modeling show smaller delay increases than earlier drafts indicated, explaining that wide exit aisles and signal metering at nearby intersections produced larger gaps in westbound traffic than initial models assumed. The consultant told council the updated model reduces projected delays to levels closer to observations in the field.

Council members repeatedly said the paper plans and diagrams did not make on‑site circulation clear to non‑engineers. Concerns focused on (1) how vehicles would enter and join the Culver's drive‑through queue without creating conflicts with inbound traffic, (2) whether tandem ordering lanes and the proposed stacking would prevent queues from backing onto 12 Mile, (3) whether the rear parking the applicant intends to use is regularly available to serve Plaza businesses (several council members and a local business owner said those spots are often used by existing tenants), and (4) the aesthetic impact of the menu board and building near the 12 Mile corridor. One council member said the proposed menu board location—about 44.7 feet from the right‑of‑way—contrasts with a typical 120‑foot setback and worried it would harm the corridor's planned streetscape.

The owner and applicant representatives pledged to require employees to park in the rear, add directional signage, update striping and lighting, and work with the plaza owner to adjust snow‑plow and maintenance practices. A Scramblers owner who spoke during public comment said the plan would remove or effectively block the first two rows of parking that their restaurant relies on and asked for clearer drawings showing how customers would access the newly proposed rear spaces.

Before voting to postpone, council asked staff and the applicant to return with: a traffic turning plan and clearer circulation diagrams; photorealistic landscape renderings that show how vegetation would screen the menu board from 12 Mile; a queuing analysis demonstrating that Starbucks and other north‑end spaces would not be blocked; and clarified, updated traffic modeling and memos addressing the council's questions. Staff said the applicant provided a large revised study Thursday and that staff needs time (they estimated about 10 days) to complete review so materials could be in the packet for the next feasible council meeting. The council emphasized packet timing requirements for distribution before the meeting.

The postponement motion was made, seconded and carried by voice vote. The council set the next hearing for the PUD amendment for its April 13 meeting to allow time to resolve outstanding traffic, parking and design issues.