The Royal Palm Beach Village Council approved a covenant change Thursday, Jan. 20 regarding an undeveloped portion of Tract 115 at the southwest corner of Okeechobee and Royal Palm Beach boulevards. The change would allow a coffee shop with a drive-through at that location.
Village Attorney Keith Davis said that in accordance with direction from the council at its last meeting, he had prepared an amendment that would allow a coffee shop with a drive-through, in addition to the currently allowed financial institution with a drive-through.
Davis said the ordinance complies with what village code defines as a coffee shop.
“So, an example of this would be a Starbucks?” Mayor Fred Pinto asked, and Davis agreed.
Village Manager Ray Liggins said the piece of Tract 115 east of the Denny’s restaurant contains an office building on the corner at the intersection, as well as another undeveloped office site to the south of that building, and another plat to the west that had been planned for two banks with drive-throughs.
“The one site south of the building has been sold to somebody else,” Liggins told the Town-Crier. “They bought the parcel that was west of the office building, which was limited to banks, so they asked the council to remove that restriction to allow for a coffee shop, with the hopes of getting a Starbucks or another coffee shop there.”
Applicant Patrick Albright said the original covenant called for two banks with drive-throughs on the two-parcel site.
“What we’re proposing is a drive-through on our site,” Albright said. “It was recently brought to my knowledge that the other site… has been sold, and it’s going to be office space. Based on the research we did, a Starbucks would have about 500 customers a day. Basically, it’s about the same kind of volume.”
He added that as of now, all the parcels have been constructed or permitted, other than the ones under discussion that evening.
“The uses that we’re asking to put in, a drive-through, overall will bring less traffic, which I think would benefit all concerned,” Albright said, explaining that a developer for Starbucks had given him the burden of obtaining a change to the covenant.
Hmara made a motion to approve the covenant amendment to expand uses to include a coffee shop with a drive-through, which carried 5-0.
