đ A drive-thru Coralville
While city staff is against it, an applicant is making the case for allowing a drive-thru near the city's center.
October 27, 2020 | Letter No. 16
Coralvilleâs Town Center Districtâwhich runs along Highway 6 from 18th Avenue to 6th Avenueâincludes everything from the Coralville Public Library to the New Pioneer Food Co-op. Just north of the center, between the highway and Interstate 80, thereâs a sprawling grid of green tree-lined housing that pupils an elementary and middle school.
As the district name and presence of City Hall suggests, this is Coralvilleâs civic center, a mid-point between its two large commercial districts at both interstate exits. If those districtsâwith their malls, hotels, and new arenaâpoint out-of-town, this district points toward residents of Coralville.
While it was dropped from the agenda at the last minute, there is an application making its way through City Hall trying to allow a drive-thru near the cityâs center. While its true that elsewhere along Highway 6 Coralville has drive-thrus (looking at you Dunkinâ), they are not allowed in this central district.
Applicant Adam Brantman applied for three properties at the corner of 2nd Avenue and 6th Streetâa busy corner by any measure. He said theyâve courted and even developed a site plan for quick-service restaurants, but city staff hadnât allowed it to move forward since drive-thrus werenât permitted.
âIt is no secret the difficulties facing retail and commercial real estate space limited to walk-in traffic. That lack of demand has only been made worse with the recent pandemic,â Brantman wrote. âAt the same time, the demand for drive through uses has never been higher and looks to continue to be for many years to come.â
[Above: The applicantâs properties are roughly outlined above and include 705 2nd Ave., 705 1/2 2nd Ave., 605 2nd Ave., 306 6th St.]
Brantman cited an article from objectively the best publication I subscribe to: QSRâshort for Quick Serve Restaurantâa trade magazine that luminaries like BK and Arbyâs send their press releases for publication. The article makes the case that table-top restaurants are doing poorly, much more poorly than those with counter-service and drive-thrus. 74 percent of people have visited the drive-thru the same amount or more often than usual since COVID-19 landed. A 43% leap from April, according to a report they cite. Companies like Chipotle opened 37 new restaurants in 2020âs Q2. 21 of those had a drive-thru lane, a âChipotlaneâ (Are you getting the appeal of this publication?).
Brantman pointed out that the properties have long been vacant and said it wouldnât be suitable for the mixed-use that is permitted there due to parking concerns.
David Johnson, the community development director for Coralville, said in a memo to council that the amendment would âundermineâ the district and the 25 years that went into whatâs there since the district planâs passage in 1995. Quick-service restaurants, he argued, âhappen in isolation, are not pedestrian oriented, do not contribute to the districtâs sense of place and identity.â Pursuing singular, low-density developments was at odds with plan itself.
âRedevelopment plans are not implemented in short time [sic]. It takes time and discipline to transform areas. In that time, development opportunities will present themselves. It is imperative local government support community planning efforts and do not sacrifice long-term goals of the community for short term, isolated opportunities,â the analysis read.
In addition, Coralvilleâs Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denying the application with a 5-2 vote at its Oct. 7, 2020 meeting.
Itâs no surprise that the redesign of this core area is jealously guarded by city staff. But itâs worth taking beat and seeing how the city choosing to wait on the right project based on the guidance of the plan versus the project that could get any development on a slab of concrete that remains an eyesore in town.
Your friendly neighborhood reporter,
Zachary Oren Smith
Also from my notebook
Urban Chicken Ordinance - Coralville City Council had the second of three readings on an ordinance that would allow single-family households in town to keep up to six chickens. Permits will cost residents $25 annually. Applicants must own the land or have permission from their landlord. Slaughtering chickens will be allowed out of view. Applicants will need to have completed a chicken raising class and have proof of completion.
Take 5
đïž Pat Garrett, the Iowa governorâs mouthpiece, told a public information officer not to honor an open records request. No surprise here, but his lawyers admitted it happened âon at least one occasion,â Stephen Gruber-Miller reported in the Register. Randy Evans of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council wrote in Iowa Watch, âsomeone might conclude the governor has decided to avoid embarrassing newspaper articles and TV reports by disregarding her officeâs obligations under the public records law.â
đłïž As of Monday, 50% of Johnson County's registered voters have already voted. Thus far, 33,216 registered Democrats have returned early ballots (overseas/military, in-person, mailing, or satellite); 6,336 Republicans have returned ballots. This participation far overshoots 2018 early voting rates and brings Democrats pretty close to the kinds of Johnson County margin they had for Fred Hubble in 2018. I put together this guide for people with questions as we get closer to the big day.
đ Pretty comprehensive write up of our IA-02 candidates and their stance on ACA and how to approach COVID-19, Perry Beeman writes in Iowa Capital Dispatch. This is a signature issue of this race and for our voters. Itâs worth reading everything you can on this issue.
đ§âđ€ Iâm sure you, like me, have wondered if Elizabeth Warren and Phoebe Bridgers knew the âTime Warp.â Jack Black, the frontman of Tenacious D, told voters itâs just a âjump to the left.â
đ° While Lee Enterprises has avoided much of the sting for the saw it took to its newspapers in small and mid-sized cities, Gwen Floro, the former editor of Leeâs Missoulian newspaper, wrote about the companyâs merciless treatment of papers like the Missoulian for The Nation. Warning: this warrants a stiff drink in hand.
Sign up for this e-newsletter?
Surely Iâm missing something. Send me a news tip with this form.
Zachary Oren Smith writes about government, growth and development for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach him at zsmith@press-citizen.com, at 319 -339-7354 or on Twitter via @Zacharyos.