Council approves 24-hour McDonald's drive-through at Ball Road with noise and queuing conditions

The City Council approved a conditional use permit on July 14 for a new McDonald's with a two-lane drive-through at 4125 Ball Road, allowing the restaurant to operate a 24-hour drive-through while conditions restrict potential nuisances.

Planning Director Alicia Velasco said the project replaces a long-vacant bank building with a roughly 3,700-square-foot McDonald's designed under the company's latest prototype. The proposal includes two ordering lanes, a dedicated bypass lane and queuing capacity for up to 19 vehicles. The McDonald's drive-through is intended to operate 24 hours; the dining room is expected to close earlier (franchisees typically operate drive-throughs 24 hours and dining rooms until about midnight), a company representative said.

Velasco said the shopping center will have 415 parking spaces after construction (down from 420 now), a figure that meets the municipal code requirement and does not account for the 19 drive-through queuing spaces. A traffic study estimated the project would generate about 82 AM peak-hour trips and 61 PM peak-hour trips; the analysis concluded adjacent intersections will continue to operate at acceptable levels.

Councilmembers debated potential late-night impacts on nearby residents (the nearest housing is roughly 145 feet south across Ball Road) and asked whether the city could require no-loitering signage and restrictions on loud behavior. The city attorney and staff proposed a condition requiring the applicant to install signage prohibiting loitering and loud noises during evening hours, require a drive-through volume control for speaker systems and create a queuing management plan. Staff also reserved the council's right to revisit the permit if substantiated complaints occur.

McDonald's representatives said the franchisee expects to operate the drive-through 24 hours and that posting no-loitering signage would not be a problem. The project's traffic consultant told the council the designed queuing can accommodate expected demand and should avoid spillover into the center's parking aisles.

Councilmember Chang expressed concerns about additional fast-food competition, parking and potential spillover into the centers lots and said she would vote no. The motion to approve the conditional use permit, including the added conditions, passed 4-1 (yes: Medrano, Menickas, Pete, Burke; no: Chang). The permit is subject to the conditions adopted by the council and staff retained authority to require further mitigation if complaints arise.