In split vote, City Council approves controversial 7 Brew drive-thru on Sunshine Street

With changes made after a failed council vote last summer, a divided Springfield City Council approved a controversial 7Brew Coffee drive-thru Monday night.

The council debate was restarted after months of government meetings over the proposed Jefferson and Sunshine drive-thru coffee shop. The rezoning has been denied three times by the city's Planning & Zoning Commission, although city staff supported the project.

Throughout the process, nearby residents raised concerns over the traffic a drive-thru would bring to that stretch of Sunshine, which is across the street from an elementary school and just a few blocks away from the highly trafficked Bass Pro Shops and Wonders of Wildlife Aquarium.

In a statement to the News-Leader after the vote, Seminole Holland Neighborhood Association board member William Cooper said residents hope the 7 Brew and Reding become good neighbors.

"The Seminole Holland Neighborhood Association is disappointed in the Council’s decision to approve the 7-Brew drive-thru. We believe the planned use of the property does not satisfy the basic requirements of a limited business zoning designation to allow development that provides goods and services to the neighborhood. Going forward, we will expect the 7-Brew coffee shop to be a good neighbor," he wrote.

When the proposal came before council in July, council members opted to allow the lot to be rezoned as a Limited Business District but denied the further designation required for a drive-thru to operate on the parcel.

Developer Royce Reding made several changes to the project's design and returned to the city for approval late last year. Revisions included reducing the evening hours from 10 p.m. to 9 p.m. for Sunday through Thursday and from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. They also plan to place music speakers away from residential neighborhoods and toward Sunshine Elementary School across the street to its north.

These changes eventually won the day as five councilmembers pulled the lever to allow a drive-thru. Three councilmembers — Monica Horton, Criag Hosmer, and Mike Schilling — remained opposed to the project. Councilwoman Heather Hardinger was not present for the vote.

Council had tabled the vote several times late last year to allow city staff time to address traffic concerns and explore the addition of a traffic calming median. Studying other 7 Brew locations, staff found an estimate of 41 vehicles an hour under a worst-case scenario. Modeled for Jefferson and Sunshine, Public Works do not anticipate the backup of traffic or the need of a median.

"If you wish to consider the item that's before you tonight in its current form … your option is really to accept the Public Works director's findings, that based on the studies that they've done for other 7 Brews … that in their professional opinion, they don't believe a backup will be occurring on Jefferson and sunshine under normal traffic circumstances," said city Planning and Development Director Susan Istenes at Monday's meeting.

But Public Works also recommends they be allowed to continue to monitor the site once it opens to see if further traffic calming measures are needed.

If a median is required, Istenes said there is no way to make the developer pay for it.

The support of city staff and analysis of the Public Works department appeared to influence some of the previously skeptical councilmembers.

"The traffic engineers believed in their analysis that there will not be an impact on Jefferson and the surrounding streets and that we would monitor to see if something like a median or other traffic calming device would be necessary if there proved to be a need for one," said councilman Matt Simpson, who voted down the project when it came before them last summer.

Councilmembers opposed to the project were more vocal in their position.

Councilman Schilling said he fears the "Glenstone-ification" of that primarily residential stretch of Sunshine Street.

Councilman Craig Hosmer said staff was trying to "drive a square peg into a round hole."

"I don't think the developer has shown us that this is a proper conditional use that would be compatible with the neighborhood ... It's a poor location for a drive-thru."

With the drive-thru approved, Reding can now begin construction on the vacant l

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield City Council approves controversial 7 Brew Coffee drive-thru