T.O. council hears complaints of noise
Ventura County Star (CA) - Thursday, September 11, 2014
Readability: >12 grade level (Lexile: 1370L)
Author: Rachel McGrath Special to The Star
Author: Rachel McGrath Special to The Star
For more than three hours this week, Thousand Oaks City Council members heard testimony about noise and disturbance issues reportedly plaguing residents living near the Oakbrook Plaza shopping center.
Specifically, residents spoke about a McDonald’s restaurant and drive-thru in the neighborhood.
Frank Millar, who lives on Shady Brook Drive, had appealed a Thousand Oaks Planning Commission decision to allow Simi Valley resident Debbie Voss, the franchisee operating the McDonald’s at 1908 E. Avenida de Los Arboles, to continue to operate extended drive-thru hours.
At Tuesday night’s public hearing at City Hall, city staff members recommended that the council deny the appeal and uphold the commission’s approval.
As the clock ticked toward 11 p.m. at the hearing, Mayor Andy Fox suggested that the item be continued so all parties could work on a compromise that would address neighbors’ concerns and give Voss a chance to make changes that might mitigate noise from the drive-thru.
Fox said the discussions showed that there was a problem with code compliance at the shopping center. He requested that the city manager, city staff members and police address the issues.
The motion was approved unanimously, 5-0.
Voss bought the restaurant, previously a Burger King, two years ago. Although the permit allowed operations only from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., she has been operating the drive-thru from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. six days a week.
When city officials told her in February about the violation of the existing special-use permit, Voss filed an application to allow the extended hours. The commission approved the application 4-0 in June.
“It was an honest mistake,” Voss told the
See COUNCIL, 2B
council. “There are three businesses that open as early as 5 a.m. and as late as 1 a.m. when I opened my restaurant.
“I was not aware I was in violation of the hours. About 80 percent of McDonald’s restaurants operate the hours that I do.”
Voss said mature trees, four lanes of a busy street, a median and a concrete wall separate her restaurant from the homes on Shady Brook Drive.
Seventy percent of her business comes from the drive-thru Friday and Saturday nights, she said.
Millar told the council Tuesday that some of his neighbors and he have documented the noise from the drive-thru at night, saying some homeowners could hear the drive-thru speaker, while others have been disturbed by idling truck engines, noisy mufflers and late-night revelers.
He also cited deliveries and landscape maintenance that took place outside permitted hours.
At the shopping center, built in 1979, operating hours of several businesses gradually have extended into early morning and late night over the years.
The McDonald’s sits between a state Department of Motor Vehicles office and a Taco Bell restaurant and drive-thru.
City staff members acknowledged that the Taco Bell and a Starbucks in the shopping center operate longer hours than their permits allow. Starbucks has an application set to come before the commission to allow it to continue to open at 5 a.m.
Specifically, residents spoke about a McDonald’s restaurant and drive-thru in the neighborhood.
Frank Millar, who lives on Shady Brook Drive, had appealed a Thousand Oaks Planning Commission decision to allow Simi Valley resident Debbie Voss, the franchisee operating the McDonald’s at 1908 E. Avenida de Los Arboles, to continue to operate extended drive-thru hours.
At Tuesday night’s public hearing at City Hall, city staff members recommended that the council deny the appeal and uphold the commission’s approval.
As the clock ticked toward 11 p.m. at the hearing, Mayor Andy Fox suggested that the item be continued so all parties could work on a compromise that would address neighbors’ concerns and give Voss a chance to make changes that might mitigate noise from the drive-thru.
Fox said the discussions showed that there was a problem with code compliance at the shopping center. He requested that the city manager, city staff members and police address the issues.
The motion was approved unanimously, 5-0.
Voss bought the restaurant, previously a Burger King, two years ago. Although the permit allowed operations only from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., she has been operating the drive-thru from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. six days a week.
When city officials told her in February about the violation of the existing special-use permit, Voss filed an application to allow the extended hours. The commission approved the application 4-0 in June.
“It was an honest mistake,” Voss told the
See COUNCIL, 2B
council. “There are three businesses that open as early as 5 a.m. and as late as 1 a.m. when I opened my restaurant.
“I was not aware I was in violation of the hours. About 80 percent of McDonald’s restaurants operate the hours that I do.”
Voss said mature trees, four lanes of a busy street, a median and a concrete wall separate her restaurant from the homes on Shady Brook Drive.
Seventy percent of her business comes from the drive-thru Friday and Saturday nights, she said.
Millar told the council Tuesday that some of his neighbors and he have documented the noise from the drive-thru at night, saying some homeowners could hear the drive-thru speaker, while others have been disturbed by idling truck engines, noisy mufflers and late-night revelers.
He also cited deliveries and landscape maintenance that took place outside permitted hours.
At the shopping center, built in 1979, operating hours of several businesses gradually have extended into early morning and late night over the years.
The McDonald’s sits between a state Department of Motor Vehicles office and a Taco Bell restaurant and drive-thru.
City staff members acknowledged that the Taco Bell and a Starbucks in the shopping center operate longer hours than their permits allow. Starbucks has an application set to come before the commission to allow it to continue to open at 5 a.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment