TRAVERSE CITY -- The Traverse City Planning Commission held a public meeting tonight regarding building a new CVS on the corner of Front St. and Division St. The meeting allowed citizens to voice their opinion on the pharmacy and called for a decision regarding a zone change.
The area is currently considered to be zone 2, but would need to become a zone 3, a community center district, in order to accomodate a drive-thru window and the building's footprint. Only in a zone C-3 is a drive-thru, a driveway, and parking allowed.
CVS representatives pointed out that the company has made changes to the original plan from December, based on the hopes of Traverse City citizens. They have met with neighbors and made multiple adjustments including saving a large spruce tree and planning on having lighting controls and off-times, among many others. The building will be brick on all four sides and made to look like other downtown buildings. The number of parking spaces has also been lowered from the original sixty-five to fifty-six, and eleven of them will be grass to provide for over-flow parking and snow pile-up. The planned hours of operation will be from 7am-11pm Mondays-Saturdays and 7am-10pm on Sundays. The site has been a gas station for years and is considered the most contaminated area in the city, and the building plans include cleaning the entire location, filtering the water, and also providing acceptable coverage for the pump house.
The Chairman of the planning commission, John Serratelli, pointed out that the new CVS will bring new jobs to the city, puts the piece of property on the city tax rolls, and gives Traverse City the chance to clean up the contaminated site and replace it with an aesthetically attractive building.
While many citizens spoke for and against the new pharmacy, the motion to approve the zoning change passed 6-1.
