Orchard Park plans to open another Tim Hortons drive-thru

This has still not been approved.

After winning twice in court, he is back before the City Council to put one of the drive-thru franchises at 4956 and 4968 Chestnut Ridge Road, which is the northwest corner of Chestnut Ridge (Route 277) and Armor-Duells roads. It sits right on the corner of Route 219 and would attract daily commuters heading to the interstate.

This time, Miranda Holdings is seeking a special use permit for the drive-thru, even though the company believes the permit should not be required.

When the project was filed, all that was needed was site plan approval, Matthew Fitzgerald, Miranda Holdings’ attorney, told the City Council Wednesday night and the Planning Board in March. The Planning Board recommended the City Council deny the application.

The City Council amended its law in 2018 to require a special permit application for drive-thru restaurants in that zoning district, Fitzgerald said.

According to Miranda, a special permit is not applicable to the project, but in the interest of moving the project toward a final decision, the company has filed an application for a special use permit, Fitzgerald told the Planning Commission.

The project calls for a 3,232-square-foot building that includes a 2,000-square-foot restaurant and 1,232 square feet of unspecified use space. There are 27 parking spaces and room for 20 cars in line.

City officials have always had concerns about traffic at the intersection. New York state won’t allow a driveway on Armor Duells Road that would have diverted traffic away from Chestnut Ridge Road. Fitzgerald said traffic studies maintain the restaurant would have no negative impact on traffic.

No one spoke in favor of the project at a public hearing before the city council Wednesday, but many nearby residents opposed it, some worried about traffic congestion, others concerned about the need for another coffee shop and the character of the community.

“I think it’s going to cause accidents,” said Emily Purcell of Crescent Avenue. “At Tim Hortons, there’s always a line out the door that stretches all the way to the street.”

She called Tim Hortons the embodiment of tourism and said she didn’t know how it would help the community.

“I’ve lived on this corner for many years,” said John Bihr, of Armor Duells Road. “There’s always been a lot of accidents.”

Mary Hinterberger of Philson Drive said she had opposed the project from the beginning.

“When this project started, I remember standing up at the podium and saying, ‘How many Tim Hortons do we need in Orchard Park?’” she said.

Fitzgerald said Miranda wants to update its traffic study after learning that a neighboring property within the village of Orchard Park is seeking to locate a gas station on Chestnut Ridge Road.

The city council agreed to keep the public hearing open until the owner submits an updated traffic study.

In 2014, the city included the parcel in its Buffalo Street/Chestnut Ridge Road architectural overlay district and passed a local law that would have required a lengthy environmental study. Miranda challenged the law. In 2015, he won before the state Supreme Court, a decision upheld by the Appellate Division and the Court of Appeals in 2017.

In 2019, the city passed a local law banning drive-ins in the architectural district. State Supreme Court Justice Jeannette Ogden struck down the law, finding that the city had not followed proper environmental procedure in enacting it. The Appellate Division upheld her decision.