The site plan for a drivethrough restaurant to be shaped like a hot dog was approved by the Mackinaw City Village Council March 19, with several changes that involve parking. An attempt by Village President Ron Wallin to landscape village property between the restaurant and street was ignored by the council and the property will be used as part of the restaurant's driveway.

The restaurant will be converted from an abandoned gas station at the corner of Nicolet Street and Central Avenue. The site plan was submitted by Joe Lieghio.

Approval of the site plan came with two stipulations, recommended by the village engineer. One will require that two parking spaces be eliminated next to the Nicolet Street entrance and the area be marked with no parking striping. Also, no parking striping must be painted by the Central Avenue entrance.

For an hour and a half, Council discussed the site plan for the second time Thursday, March 19, after voting 4-3 during its March 5 meeting to have its attorney and engineer review the proposal.

Stimulating most of the debate was the use of a public right-ofway that runs parallel to Nicolet Street, between an existing sidewalk and the private property. Mr. Lieghio plans to use the public right-of-way as a maneuvering lane to allow cars entering from Central Avenue to drive around the building to reach the drive-through area.

President Wallin voiced the only objection to the plan. He raised concerns for the safety of pedestrians and he proposed moving the sidewalk away from the edge of road and onto the right-ofway. He suggested the newly created area between the sidewalk and curb be landscaped and serve as a buffer between the sidewalk and street traffic.

Mr. Wallin proposed the first motion, which called for a 30-foot curb cut on both Nicolet Street and Central Avenue entrances and that the village retain sole use of the right-of-way for safety and landscaping. The motion died for lack of support.

During discussion, Mr. Wallin said he eventually would like to see similar improvements made to all public rights-of-way at that intersection.

Resident Kay Stemkoski said she thought the restaurant would improve the corner and the council should approve the site plan.

"If this hassle over this little strip of property is going to prohibit this business from going in," she said, "I think that's a crying shame. Because a little strip of grass isn't going to make one little bit of difference downtown. But to have that corner dressed up like a cute hot dog stand, everybody I have talked to said it's a good idea. I'm all for it. Why you are hassling over a little strip of grass and prohibiting a business from proceeding? I think that's unfair."

Mr. Wallin sought to clarify his concerns.

"The city is not restricting them from doing business on that property," he said. "There is room to maneuver on that property without using village right-of-way."

Trustee Jeff Hingston said the village has no plan in place for the property, so the site plan should be approved.

"It's a given that a public rightof way, the use of it, is at the discretion of the village at any time," he said. "And until there is a plan for that intersection, for that public right-of-way, leave it alone. I don't see any reason to hold this project up."

Mr. Wallin questioned the amount of parking spaces, which are almost twice as many as required. He wondered if that meant that, in the future, the restaurant will become a drive-in restaurant.

That option could be explored, said Chris Brown, who represented Mr. Lieghio at the meeting.

Using car-hops, noted Village Manager Jeff Lawson, would cause zoning issues. The plans approved do not allow for curb service, he said. There are differences in regulations between a drive-in and drive-through restaurant, said Mr. Lawson, and that district also does not allow a drive-in.

Mr. Hingston questioned Mr. Wallin's concern for the type of restaurant.

"I was curious just in case they intended to change the use," said Mr. Wallin, "and to find out now whether it would be permitted or not."

Mr. Wallin expressed his concern over traffic backups onto Nicolet Street with the limited drive-up lane length.

Mr. Brown said the food would be served quickly and he did not think traffic backup would occur. Also, parking spaces would be available for customers and they could order food inside the building.

Access to the restroom will be only from the outside. Mr. Wallin noted, and he questioned the logic of the plan, which would force inside customers to exit the building to use the restroom.

Mr. Lieghio is using the existing building and regulations involving the restroom are grandfathered, said Mr. Lawson, and they fall under building codes, not site plan reviews. Mr. Lawson agreed that having the restroom inside the building would make more sense, although he said the village council can not mandate it. If the building were new, he said, the code would require inside access.

Most of the use, speculated Mr. Brown, would be from people using the outdoor seating, which accommodates more people than inside the restaurant. People will also be eating in their vehicles, he noted.