DETROIT (WXYZ) — Residents and business owners near Mack Avenue and Marseille Street in Detroit say they aren't excited about a proposed Chick-fil-A development.
“I’ve seen Chick-fil-A on Hall Road. I just went by one on Telegraph, and the traffic that they bring is excessive," Gross Pointe resident Katie Brosnan told 7 Action News.
She's concerned about the impact the traffic volume will have on the residential community if Verus Development Group has its way.
She said, "We do not think that the traffic study commissioned by Chick-fil-A was adequate to provide the safety that’s needed in this area.”
A daycare is located next door to the proposed development. Renee Chown and her husband are the owners of The Giving Tree Montessori Learning Center. She talked to 7 Action News while surrounded by parents and staff.
“My take is that this is the worst place for a Chick-fil-A because of the fact that it is not safe. Safety is the main concern of my childcare license, and this will not be a safe decision," she said.
Other Chick-fil-A locations, like the one at Telegraph and 12 Mile in Southfield and the one in Novi at Twelve Oaks Mall are located either within or adjacent to shopping mall and strip mall parking lots.
Brosnan said, "I would be concerned with traffic. I would be concerned with pickup and drop-off (at the daycare). I would be concerned with kids walking to and from cars."
"I would also be concerned with the safety of the people who are walking up to this walk-up window here. I mean, if we also have pedestrian traffic around this Chick-fil-A and not just cars driving around it, you have potential for people to end up in places that they're not supposed to be," she continued.
Early afternoon, 7 Action News left a voice message for a principal with Verus Development Group and made a second call to another gentleman representing the company. The second gentleman hung up.
According to the City of Detroit, the property is zoned for a restaurant and the developer is applying for a special land use permit for a drive-thru.
In a statement to 7 Action News, the city said:
We welcome any code-compliant business to the City of Detroit and we also respect the neighbors' and business owners' right to voice their position on any business that requires a conditional land use hearing. This ordinance does not apply to daycare centers and anyone within 300 feet of a proposed establishment can appeal to the Board of Zoning & Appeals.
A hearing regarding the special land use permit request is scheduled for October 18th at 9:30 a.m. over Zoom.
The link for the hearing can be found here:
https://cityofdetroit.zoom.us/J/89517106887
Dial in number: 1-267-831-0333
