ADRIAN — A proposal for a new McDonald’s drivethrough on West Maumee Street drew questions and concerns at the March 3 Adrian City Planning Commission meeting.

McDonald’s is proposing to combine 1548 W. Maumee St. and 4210 W. Maumee St. into a single parcel and to demolish the existing buildings on those parcels, then build a 4,000-square-foot restaurant with a double drivethrough lane.

The site is east of Maumee Street’s intersection with U.S. 223 and just west of Maple Avenue.

Mike McPherson from Atwell, a civil engineering consultant hired by McDonald’s, addressed the planning commission about the company’s proposal. He said the two driveways currently going into the two properties would be condensed to one, at the request of the Michigan Department of Transportation, and that it would be lined up with the driveway on the other side of the street.

He also said the restaurant would have about 30 parking spaces, in excess of the city’s requirements, and would have a 6-foot fence along the north side to separate it from the houses in that direction.

The drivethrough would be designed to accommodate up to 22 cars, he said.

A review by city staff stated that the plan was in keeping with current land use in the area, noting that similar drive-through restaurants are located along that stretch.

However, the planning commission heard objections from about a dozen people, many of them residents of the Rolling Meadows subdivision. Residents expressed concern about noise and light, noting that the property is right next to several homes on Meadowbrook Drive, and also about traffic.

Gerry Burg, who lives on Meadowbrook Drive, said there are four houses in the subdivision whose back yards are directly adjacent to the proposed McDonald’s.

“Those property values will go down significantly,” Burg said.

“With that many cars, going from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m., the noise is going to destroy our neighborhood,” he added.

Tim Allshouse, who lives nearby on Canterbury Street, described sitting in a line of cars on Maumee Street recently while waiting to get into Suzy Q’s Car Wash on the other side of the road.

“If Suzy Q’s can create a backup, what’s a drivethrough at McDonald’s going to do when it’s 5 o’clock?” he asked.

Allshouse noted that it’s already difficult to turn left from Maple Avenue onto Maumee Street because there’s so much traffic in the area.

“You might as well go get a pizza at Little Caesar’s and wait,” he said. “That’s how long it’s going to take you.”

Several planning commission members said they shared those concerns.

Planning commissioner Don Taylor said he drove out to the area a little after 5 p.m. on a recent afternoon, and traffic was backed up from U.S. 223 to past the property in question.

Commissioner Nancy Weatherby agreed.

“It’s often that I see there’s a line backed up from 223, and it seems to me the times of those lines are when it might be your peak hour at McDonald’s,” she said.

Commissioner Robert Love said he was not comfortable voting on the site plan because he didn’t feel the planning commission had enough information. He also said commissioners hadn’t had enough time to study the proposed site plan.

Planning commission members voted unanimously to table the proposal to a future meeting.

The planning commission meets on the second Tuesday of every month in the City Chambers Building, 159 E. Maumee St. Meeting agenda are posted on the city website and may be found by going to adriancity.com and clicking on “Government,” then “Planning Commission.”