Saturday, Jun. 25, 2011

Fast food rejected in Apex

Concerned about adding more vehicles to an already congested area, the Apex Town Council voted 3-0 to deny a request for a new McDonald's at Beaver Creek Commons.

"Every time I go to that plaza the traffic is horrendous," said Councilman Gene Schulze. "If you try to make a left turn out of the Lowe's or the Target, good luck. I don't want to do anything to make it worse than it already is."

The proposed 4,500-square-foot fast food restaurant was expected to add about 1,115 cars per weekday, according to a study prepared by Ramey, Kemp & Associates Inc., in Raleigh.

Attorney Lacy Reaves, who was representing McDonald's, said the developer met the town's requirements and development standards.

"There is no question that the introduction of the McDonald's will result in more traffic," Reaves said. "The question is how much traffic? Four percent is marginally insignificant."

Tony Holmes, who owns a Chick-fil-A franchise at the shopping center, spoke against the addition of the fast food restaurant during Tuesday's quasi-judicial hearing. The McDonald's would have been near his business.

"I'm not opposed to development. I'm a business owner," Holmes said. "My concern is the traffic. It is going to make it more difficult for my customers to get in and out. If you go down there you know there is going to be a problem."

The town council and Holmes questioned the numbers in the traffic study because the counts were taken on a Tuesday and Wednesday, and not during the weekend when Beaver Creek Commons is at its busiest.

Several of the intersections in the area, such as the one on Zeno Drive, already have "F" and "D" ratings, according to the traffic study.

"The addition of 1,110 cars on Beaver Creek would create more hazardous conditions," Holmes said.

In 2009, there were 91 collisions on Beaver Creek Commons Drive. Of those 76 were reportable wrecks, meaning there were injuries or property damage, according to the Apex Police Department. In 2010, there were 122 crashes with 80 reportable wrecks, police reported.

"The issue police have to deal with is the congestion," said Apex Police Chief Jack Lewis. "The cars start to (stack) up and it results in driver impatience which leads to more accidents."

Council members Lance Olive and Bryan Gossage recused themselves from the vote. because of a technicality part of the qausi judicial process. Prior to learning McDonald's would be reviewed in a quasi-judicial hearing, Gossage and Olive did research and formed opinions, they said.

Under the quasi-judicial rules, the council is allowed only to consider the facts presented during the hearing, not prior information.

It's unclear if McDonald's plans to appeal the ruling.