Update: After a phone conversation with the property owner, I found out he does not plan to open up a restaurant himself. He just plans to find tenants for the building once the conditional use permit is approved. -JS


The owner of the old Chuck’s Drive-In building on Peace Portal Drive wants to open a restaurant on the property but first needs approval from Blaine planning commissioners.

Planning commissioners will hold a public hearing on a conditional use permit for the old drive-in building at their Thursday, July 26, meeting, starting at 7 p.m. in Blaine city council chambers. Commissioners, who have final say on the issue, will then vote on the permit.

According to a Blaine planning staff report (see entire report posted below), Chuck’s Drive-In closed some time in the late 2000s, and a restaurant has been informally proposed for the property several times since. The current conditional use permit application, submitted by the property’s owner Paul Sall, is the first time such an application has been formally submitted.

A conditional use permit is needed because the zoning area in which the building sits does not allow restaurants outright. The only uses permitted outright in this particular zone are single family homes and office space less than 1,000 square feet.

Blaine planning staff are recommending planning commissioners approve the conditional use permit, with some specific requirements for the property owner. These requirements include removing the roof-mounted sign, which is not allowed under Blaine municipal code, improving landscaping on the property and establishing parking spaces.

For more information, click here to visit the planning commission agenda page and scroll down to the 7-26-12 entry. I’m going to try to contact Sall, the property owner, for a longer story in this Thursday’s issue of The Northern Light.

 

Blaine Planning Commission Chuck's Drive-In Conditional Use Permit Application Staff Report