Council postpones Culver’s decision for second time

FARMINGTON HILLS — There were many familiar questions — and few answers — when the Farmington Hills City Council heard again from representatives of the restaurant chain Culver’s on the topic of a new diner proposed for Orchard Twelve Plaza, on the west side of Orchard Lake Road just north of 12 Mile Road.

At the meeting Feb. 23, the reps provided little detail when asked about site renderings, traffic studies, parking studies, and the impact the new venue could have on existing businesses at the mall. This followed the council’s decision Jan. 12 to postpone a vote on the development so that the applicant would have more time to provide the requested information.

Several council members stated that they could not parse the renderings presented by the Culver’s reps, which were presented in black and white. The council members asked for more detailed renders in full color, depicting the building, traffic flow, parking lot and landscape.

“I am concerned about the project as it is presented before us tonight. … I don’t know that this is the right spot for Culver’s at this time,” said City Councilmember Jackie Boleware. “I just don’t see it working.”

She noted the menu boards were too close to the street, which she said didn’t look good. Boleware had other concerns, as well.

“With the disappearance of the righthand turn lane from 12 Mile, it makes it much more difficult (to enter the shopping center),” Boleware said. 

The applicant said the menu boards would be hidden by trees and shrubs.

Boleware asked if there were there were renderings that showed this. 

“I wish I would have put it in this package,” replied Allen Eizember, a rep from Culver’s engineering firm, Nowak & Fraus Engineers.

City Councilmember Charlie Starkman described the renderings as “lines and squiggles.”

“I wish there were more specific renderings,” Starkman said. “I really want this, but I feel there are just so many things that are still not set enough for me to feel comfortable moving forward with it.” 

One councilmember also noted the drivers in the renderings appeared to be driving on the wrong side of the road.

Mayor Theresa Rich said the presentation didn’t inspire much confidence.

“The good people of Farmington Hills put us here to bring forward projects that are ready,” Rich said. “In my reading of what has been presented to us, we haven’t seen what we needed to see on the traffic study. … We are still really confused about which way these arrows are going, and which way the traffic is going to go.”  

She added that the traffic study appeared to indicate it would take nearly twice as long to exit the reconfigured parking lot with Culver’s there, versus the time it takes to leave now.

“Today, if I want to leave this shopping center, it’s 53 seconds to get out of there,” Rich said. “Under the study, (when Culver’s is there), if I wanted to leave this shopping center, it would take 120 seconds. That, to me, is a problem.” 

The reps said those details weren’t accurate and that they would produce more reliable numbers with the help of city staff.  

“From what we observed in the field, the time to get out of the shopping plaza is much shorter,” said Luke Liu, of AECOM, Culver’s traffic engineer. “In new models, the left-turn delay is predicted to be about four seconds, and the right-turn increase in delay is just over one second.” 

The mayor noted this information hadn’t been presented to council.

The reps also struggled to clarify how motorists driving in the parking lot would enter the drive-thru lane of Culver’s, and whether those parking at the restaurant to dine onsite would be obstructing an adjacent Starbucks drive-thru. 

In addition, the owners of the Scrambler’s restaurant in the same plaza voiced concerns that Culver’s would eat into the parking space in front of their business.

The reps noted that each Culver’s restaurant typically operates within a three-mile radius of another Culver’s location, but in some cases the distance is greater. 

“If we go too close to another location, Culver’s feels we’re going to impact (each other), and we don’t want to impact another Culver’s,” said the applicant, Derrick Sesi. “Even though the rule is three miles, in some cases they won’t allow another Culver’s within six miles, because it impacts another Culver’s.” 

City Councilmember Valerie Knol asked if Culver’s would be able to open the restaurant about 0.5 miles west on Orchard Lake Road. The reps replied that Culver’s approached all sites they deemed eligible, and they have been committed to the 12 Mile and Orchard Lake location for 18 months.

“It’s not easy to just pivot and find a new location,” Sesi said. “I’m very financially invested in this. I’ve put every dollar I have … just to get to this point. And to see that all go away and start from scratch would be very hard for me to do financially.”

Rich encouraged him to revisit council with more detailed answers on how the project would move forward. 

“I have heard you say, at least four times, ‘Well, we could do it this way,’ or, ‘We could do it that way.’ When it comes to (the council), we need to be able to say (the project) is ready. And to go to our residents and say it’s ready,” Rich said. “I’m not hearing that.”

The council members appeared to agree they’re open to Culver’s in Farmington Hills, but they also agreed that key questions needed to be answered first.

The council thus postponed its vote once again — this time to the April 13 council meeting, when Culver’s is scheduled to appear before council for a third time.  

Call Staff Writer Gena Johnson at (586) 498-1069.