A second request to rezone land near Celanese Road to commercial property was turned down by Rock Hill's Planning Commission on Tuesday night.
The commission issues recommendations to the City Council; council members have the final say.
McDonald’s is asking that the city change the classification of four pieces of land at the corner of Celanese and Mount Gallant roads.
One piece of property McDonald's wants to purchase and rezone to “limited commercial” is on Monterey Drive, zoned as residential land.
For Randy Graham, vice-chair of the Planning Commission, Tuesday's decision came down to the residential lot, he said, and the way a fast-food company might infringe upon a neighborhood.
For months, several residents in the Oakwood Acres community have attended city meetings to voice concern over a proposed McDonald's building at the end of Monterey Drive.
Graham isn't opposed to businesses there if the property fronts Celanese Road, he said.
The issue is when commercial uses move farther into a neighborhood such as Oakwood Acres, Graham said.
Graham's vote was one of three against the rezoning proposal Tuesday.
Commissioners Duane Christopher and Jeff Greene were in the minority, voting to recommend to the City Council that the rezoning be approved.
McDonald's first asked the city to rezone the property in October 2012.
Last year, with four members present, the Planning Commission unanimously approved the company's request. The City Council has not been asked since then to vote on the matter because McDonald's requested twice this year that action be deferred.
In February, McDonald's withdrew its request, meaning it would need to start over in the rezoning process if the company reapplied.
One commissioner, Gladys Robinson, voted in favor of McDonald's request last year but voted against the company's same request Tuesday night.
Two commissioners who voted for the proposal last year did not attend Tuesday's meeting.
During the meeting, Robinson asked if McDonald's could downsize the square footage of its restaurant and reduce its parking enough to not need the residential lot to be rezoned.
McDonald’s wants to use about 3.3 acres on Celanese Road and Monterey Drive to build a 4,500-square-foot restaurant with about 85 seats inside and 60 on-site parking spaces.
The proposed restaurant size is the company's standard prototype, Payman Nadimi said in response to Robinson’s question.
Without the residential lot, McDonald's can build without a zoning change on some of the land included in its plan for a new restaurant.
If the city doesn't approve the rezoning request, the company would need to re-evaluate whether building without the extra land would be financially smart, said Craig Givens of McDonald's.
Robinson mentioned that neighbors were still concerned about restaurant traffic spilling onto neighborhood streets such as Monterey Drive and Franklin Street.
A traffic deferral device should help curb that concern, Givens said.
McDonald's plans to install a “pork chop” device on Monterey Drive to prevent customers from making a left-hand turn and driving through the neighborhood after exiting the restaurant. A “pork chop” would force a right-hand turn toward Celanese Road, Givens said.
“And if they try to do a left turn, part of the bottom of their car's going to be left there,” he said.
His company has done everything it can to meet Rock Hill's rules and regulations and work with neighbors, Givens said.
The restaurant's plan and the company proposal won't change before a City Council vote, he said.
Christopher said he was disappointed that the Planning Commission didn't recommend approval for McDonald's request.
It’s became an “emotional issue,” he said.
Property values won't plummet as a result of the McDonald's, although some Oakwood Acres residents feel that will happen, Christopher said.
Traffic concerns on Celanese Road and surrounding areas won't get any better anytime soon, he said.
Drivers already can't turn left from most side streets because Celanese Road has a “design flaw” of having too many lanes, he said.
The City Council meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Rock Hill's City Hall.
