Published: May 07, 2008 11:17 am            

MEDINA: Tim Hortons site plan is OK'd

A formal site plan review for the proposed Tim Hortons restaurant at 11305 Maple Ridge Road brought questions and comments from both the Village of Medina Planning Board and residents.

Bob Bender, a project manager with Tim Hortons, said the property is a little more than an acre, and the building will be about 2,400 square feet, on the west side of the property. The parking lot will be able to accommodate 30 vehicles, with room for an 11-vehicle line at the drive-thru.

“We tried to separate the customer parking from the drive-thru lane,” Bender said.

Although it is not of major concern at this point, Bender said resonance testing found a void in the ground at the site. Prior to being Tom and Jeanne’s restaurant, the location was a gas station, and there is a “chance that there’s an abandoned (gas) tank,” he said. “It hasn’t caused any panic on our part.”

There are plans to dig into the void to find out if it is a tank and take proper action, if that is the outcome of the dig.

To decrease disturbance to neighbors north of the restaurant, the chain proposed building a 4-foot wooden fence to keep out the glare of headlights and reduce noise. Resident Fran Grabowski, who lives directly behind the site, requested they look into the possibility of a 6-foot fence instead.

Neighboring the restaurant to the west is the office of State Farm insurance agent Julianna Duda. To reduce disturbance there, Bender said the company would look at the possibility of fencing a portion of the west side of the property. Spruce trees between the two properties would also be removed and replaced with oak and maple trees.

There will be lighting around the perimeter of the property, and Bender said the company has tried to limit it to one light per property side. The site plans indicate there will be minimal lighting that spills from Tim Hortons’ property onto surrounding areas, even though the lighting “is fairly bright,” Bender said. He said he will also look into the amount of “spillage” from the lighting on the property.

The site plan was deemed complete, and the board moved to accept it and will refer it to the Orleans County Planning Board, the Municipal Tree Board and the village’s engineering consultant. The village has been named the lead agency on the state environmental quality review.

A public hearing on the Tim Hortons site has been scheduled for 7:10 p.m. June 3 at the village hall.

Contact reporter Miranda Vagg at 798-1400, ext. 2225.

        

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