Concerns Lodged by Farms, Detroit Officials About Proposed McDonald's

Concerns about the were voiced by not only Grosse Pointe Farms officials and residents but also by a Detroit city planner. 

The blueprints of the proposed 4,362-square-foot restaurant call for a double lane drive-thru, 52 parking spaces and heavy landscaping. McDonald's is planning to lease the land from its current owners and the site would be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up, said Tom Gergich, McDonald's real estate representative. The restaurant, he said, would be a vast improvement as compared with the current weed-choked vacant lot that has become an eyesore to motorists and adjacent businesses.  

The building's front would face Canyon Street and the drive-thrus would face Mack Avenue—a point of much discussion between McDonald's representatives and Detroit City Planner John Paul Harang.

He described the area as one of Detroit's nicer tree-lined, green areas of roadway and said the city would prefer to keep it that way by having the front of the building face Mack Avenue. He asked McDonald's officials to consider submitting another rendering with such a change but they declined, saying they've already considered such positioning and the depth of the lot doesn't allow for it without then risking a traffic problem on the streets. 

The proposed building's architect, Frank Martin, said the entire site has been designed with traffic flow in mind to keep the traffic on the property rather than forcing them back onto the street. That is in part why they designed the new restaurant with double drive-thru lanes, to prevent stacking up of cars, he said. 

Such consideration for traffic flow is especially important because 70 percent of McDonald's business comes through the drive-thru company-wide, Gergich said. 

Martin also described the building as having a "Starbucky feel," explaining it's not the traditional kids' restaurant the public is used to seeing for the last 30-plus years. 

Harang said ultimately the decision about whether to accept the site plans are up to his boss with whom he planned to speak after the hearing. His department will then issue a recommendation to Robert Davenport, Detroit's manager of special land use, who was the hearing officer. 

The plans are also concerning to Grosse Pointe Farms officials and residents. The restaurant, while technically in Detroit, will face many Grosse Pointe Farms business owners and residents. Farms City Manager Shane Reeside submitted a letter written by Farms Mayor James Farquhar sharing concerns about the project for his community. 

Reeside questioned Davenport about notice of the hearing, explaining the Farms never received notice. Detroit city officials, however, had documentation to show that the notice was sent not only to the Farms city offices on Kerby Road but also city of Grosse Pointe offices on Maumee. 

Davenport said notices are required for anyone who is within 300 feet of the property at 18201 Mack Ave. and 24 notices were mailed, eight of which were returned. 

Reeside, along with other residents, expressed frustration in having sufficient time to provide their comments considering Farms officials found out about the hearing Tuesday. He apologized for entering his comments only at the hearing and not having done so beforehand as he normally would do, noting the last-minute discovery of the meeting. 

Farms residents Janice and Carlos Monarrez and Elliott Fuller each spoke against the project as well as John Jackson, who is a resident and a city planner who does work for Grosse Pointe Woods and the city of Grosse Pointe.

Janice Monarrez lives on Moran Road—the Grosse Pointe Farms road that is named Canyon in Detroit. Monarrez, a freelance copy editor with Patch.com, is concerned about the amount of traffic McDonald's will produce for an intersection she believes isn't prepared for heavy volumes of vehicles.

A better location if McDonald's must locate in the area, she said, would be Mack and Moross where a Kroger was torn down and the site is being filled with greenery. That location is already a heavily traveled intersection that could handle heavy volumes a McDonald's could produce, she said.

There are 24 young children who live on her block, which is already plagued by motorists using it as a shortcut to get into Grosse Pointe or to get back to Mack Avenue. Just last week, she said, an officer issued a ticket for a motorist traveling 45 miles per hour in the 25-mph zone on her street. 

Aesthetics are a secondary concern for her, especially after she found out the restaurant will open as a 24-hour site—a fact McDonald's officials revealed only after repeatedly being questioned about it by Reeside. 

McDonald's is requiring all new restaurants to open as 24 hours and then evaluate on a case-by-case basis whether each store should remain open round the clock. The dining room would close each night at 10 p.m. and reopen at 6 a.m. the following morning but the drive-thru would remain open overnight. 

Detroiters Savarior and Errol Service, who live several blocks outside of Grosse Pointe but send their children to for school, will be the owner/operators of the restaurant. The couple owns 15 other McDonald's in the metro area, including the one in St. Clair Shores on 9 Mile Road and one in Eastpointe, Savarior Service said.

She defended the site plans and said there would be an element of neighborhood responsibility by McDonald's employees to ensure litter is not plaguing the grounds. She also said she doesn't believe the McDonald's will generate additional traffic but will allow passing motorists an option for good food.

Afterward, Savarior Service said she and her husband have been looking to open a location in the Grosse Pointe area for years because it was a gap in coverage. Area residents have to drive much farther than most to reach a McDonald's, she said. Mack and Moross would be ideal, she said, but zoning prohibits it.

She also said she believes her and her husband's ownership is an important factor because they live in the area and are familiar with the values and culture, which is far better than either corporate operating it or someone from out of the area.

The Grosse Pointes banned fast-food restaurants years ago—grandfathering in the only existing traditional fast-food restaurant among the five Pointes, which is on Mack Avenue.

Following Wednesday's hearing, Davenport took the application for special land use under advisement and his decision will come in the form of a letter to be shared with all of the attendees of the hearing. It's likely to be a few weeks at least, he said.