By Katie Northcott, News Director
At its meeting on Monday, April 20, the Tullahoma Planning Commission approved a subdivision plat, site plan, and variance request for Palmetto Tullahoma, which is looking to bring a Dutch Bros Coffee (Dutch Bros) to Tullahoma.
Dutch Bros is an American coffee chain that was founded in Oregon and began expanding to the southeastern U.S. in 2021. Click here to visit their website.
The proposed site for Dutch Bros is located on property currently owned by Ascend Federal Credit Union. As a result, the commission first had to approve a subdivision plat. The subdivision would remove the piece of Ascend’s parking lot that is along William Northern Blvd., where it intersects N Jackson St. That piece of property will be used as the site for the Dutch Bros.
The commission members present at the meeting approved the subdivision plat unanimously. Two commission members were absent. The approval also granted an easement for Dutch Bros to use the entrance to the Ascend parking lot that is on William Northern Blvd.
After approving the subdivision plat, the commission members present at the meeting unanimously approved the site plan on the condition that the Tullahoma Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) granted a variance. The BZA is composed of the same members as the commission and met following the commission meeting.
The developer requested a variance granting relief from the 35-foot front yard setback requirement along William Northern Blvd. to allow space for an awning that would project slightly into the setback area.
The developer attached the following statement to his variance request:
“The subject lot has a limited frontage width of approximately 90 feet, which results in only about 45 feet of buildable width after required setbacks are applied. While the building footprint fits within the allowable area, the proposed canopy extends slightly into the setback due to this constraint. The requested variance applies only to the canopy and is necessary to allow reasonable development of the site given the lot’s limited width.”
City staff recommended approval of the variance request “due to the insignificance of the projection.”
The BZA members present at the meeting granted the variance with a 3-1 vote. Commission Chairman Alex Rice opposed the motion because he believed the developer should have answered the questions on the variance request form directly instead of attaching a general statement.
During the Planning Commission and BZA meetings, Palmetto Tullahoma received the approvals necessary to proceed with its plan to construct a Dutch Bros in Tullahoma.
The post Planning Commission Approves Plans to Bring Dutch Bros. Coffee to Tullahoma appeared first on Thunder Radio.
