New Plans Proposed For Pizza Hut Lot

Lebanon — Developers again are asking the Planning Board to approve a new mixed-use building on the site of West Lebanon’s former Pizza Hut.

Just last month, the board gave August Bristol Pizza LLC the go-ahead to construct a 7,120-square-foot space intended to house a dental office, restaurant and retail store. But this month the developer submitted plans to redesign the site.

The new plan is expected to go before the board early next month.

At almost 6,000 square feet, the new proposal drops plans for a retail space, while keeping a dental office and a coffee shop. The building would also have a drive-thru and traffic would be reconfigured one-way along two sides, according to planning documents.

Although the newly proposed building is smaller than the previous proposal, it also requires less parking. Engineers slotted 33 spaces in the new design, where the previous plan was set to have 41.

Engineers worked with the expected dental office to determine the best number of spaces for employees and patients, said James Kinosian, an engineer with the New Jersey-based Stonefield Engineering & Design, during the board’s July 11 meeting.

The city’s zoning regulations called for a minimum of 28 spaces for the three businesses, but Kinosian said about 23 would be put to use daily for the dental office alone. In the firm’s new plans, the office would be allotted 15 spaces and the coffee shop would get the remaining 18.

Parking was an issue at the July meeting for some board members, who worried about additional traffic along Route 12A.

“It could be a very small impact or it could be a much bigger one depending on what the menu is and the hours that it’s open,” said board member Joan Monroe, according to audio of the meeting.

A new traffic study found the coffee shop and dental office combination could generate 235 vehicles during mornings mid-week. The site is also expected to draw 204 more trips during peak Saturday hours.

“Coffee shops with drive-thru service are specifically located adjacent to major thoroughfares to attract motorists already on the roadway,” the report explained. “Therefore, the proposed site would be expected to attract a portion of its trips (from people already passing).”

The initial plans for the site were expected to see much less traffic than the new proposal. A traffic study from June estimated the three-business building could have expected to add 60 additional peak hour weekday trips, and 73 on the weekend.

Monroe said on Sunday that she’s not yet sure whether traffic will come up during the board’s next review. She did say she hopes the site will continue to its access easement on a nearby property, so there will be more than one way out in case of emergencies.

During the July meeting, City Councilor Sarah Welsch inquired about a drive-thru window, which wasn’t part of the July design. She said one could make for possible parking lot mishaps, especially since the restaurant was initially planned to be in between the office and retail space.

“I thought, ‘That’s going to stick out,’ ” she said at the meeting.

In the new design, the drive-thru would be placed on the building’s north side and cars would enter in a one-way lane behind the building. The site would also keep its shared access to Route 12A.

The Planning Board will discuss the proposed redesign at 6:30 p.m., on Sept. 12 in City Hall.