Milton board approves McDonald’s variances

A proposed McDonald’s restaurant off Route 16 in Milton has cleared its first hurdle after the board of adjustment granted variances Nov. 29.

The variances are from setback requirements and would allow McDonald’s to operate a two-lane drive-thru at the corner of Route 16 and Union Street Extended, as well as allow it to have 39 parking spaces instead of the code-required 41. 

McDonald’s is proposing to build a 4,000-plus-square-foot restaurant on the northeast corner of the existing Milton Park Center Shopping Plaza, colloquially known as the Food Lion shopping center for its anchor tenant. The parcel is zoned C-1 commercial and the restaurant would include 60 seats, parking, drive-thru windows, landscaping, lighting and other improvements. Fast-food restaurants are a permitted use in town code within the commercial district.

McDonald’s presented its original variance requests Oct. 24, and the board unanimously granted variances to allow McDonald’s to have four electronic menu signs at the drive-thru lanes and to have a 10-foot-wide drive aisle from the service window to the parking area; town code requires a minimum of 60 feet from the service window to either the public right of way or interior parking areas. At that October meeting, however, the board denied a variance from the minimum parking setback requirements, which by Milton code must be 30 feet. McDonald’s had asked for 15 feet because, to comply with code, it would necessitate the removal of code-required parking spaces. 

At the Nov. 29 meeting, McDonald’s revised its plans, shifting the building to the east, opening up a 22-foot setback adjacent to Route 16 and a 24-foot setback on Union Street Extended, instead of 15 feet on both sides as had originally been proposed. Town code requires a 30-foot setback in the commercial district. McDonald’s is planning for access to the restaurant to come via the existing entrances to the shopping center. McDonald’s engineer Steve Fortunato said the changes will move the restaurant away from both Union Street Extended and Route 16, and will fit in with the surrounding development. 

Attorney Bill Rhodunda, representing McDonald’s, said the proposal meets the legal standards for a variance and the restaurant would not negatively affect neighboring properties, since it does not abut any residential homes and is in a primarily commercial area. He said without the variances, McDonald’s would not be able to operate in Milton, as the double drive-thru lanes in particular are a valuable part of McDonald’s business; Rhodunda said 70% of McDonald’s business comes via drive-thru orders. He said McDonald’s has found that two drive-thru lanes – increasingly standard at McDonald’s franchises – are a safer and more efficient way of moving traffic around the restaurant. 

Still, the idea of bringing the Golden Arches to Milton has met with opposition from residents. Of six email comments received by the board, five were opposed. All five speakers at the Nov. 29 meeting were opposed, mainly on the basis of the location, which they believed would increase traffic problems at what is already one of the busiest intersections in Milton. 

Dean Abbott of Coulter Street said he would like to see the McDonald’s moved farther down Route 16, where there is more land and space for McDonald’s, allowing the restaurant to build its own dedicated entrance and exit.

Al Benson of Collins Street said McDonald’s would have a negative impact with the extra traffic it would bring for people trying to get into Food Lion or Walgreens. 

Concern about the impact of a McDonald’s in Milton has even reached the town council level, where following the board’s October meeting, Councilwoman Annette Babich said she would like to see the town pursue a second commercial zoning classification that would be related to franchise operations like McDonald’s. Under current code, the C-1 district encompasses all kinds of commercial businesses. According to Town Solicitor Seth Thompson, the idea of a second commercial zone is being fleshed out, but there is no timetable for when it would be presented to council. 

The problem for the board in the moment, as addressed by Rhodunda, board member Dam Molina and Chairman Steve Crawford, is that traffic concerns are outside the purview of the board and would be addressed during the planning and zoning commission’s site-plan review process, where plans will be refined in further detail. 

With that, the board moved to take a vote on approving the variances, and they were approved by a 3-1 vote, with Molina being the only no, saying that McDonald’s had not proved a hardship or exceptional practical difficulty to be granted a variance.

A date for McDonald’s to go before planning and zoning for preliminary site-plan approval has not been scheduled, but that will be the next step for the public to participate.