Novato Planning Commission approves downtown drive-thru

The Novato Planning Commission has approved a proposal to bring a two-tenant building with a restaurant drive-thru in the downtown area.

Steve Marshall, deputy director of community development, said the commission voted on Monday to support the project, including the drive-thru, an element that was not initially recommended by staff.

Marshall said the permit resolution will be modified to reflect the commission’s decision on the drive-thru and will be presented as a consent item at an upcoming meeting. The commission will be asked to confirm and accept the revisions to the resolution, he said.

The applicant is United Growth Capital Management LLC, a real estate developer in San Rafael. The application does not specify a tenant for the drive-thru.

The site is a lot of about half an acre located on the west side of Seventh Street in the Downtown Novato Center. On the north side of Novato Creek near Grant Avenue, the center includes a Lucky grocery store, a CVS pharmacy and a US Bank branch.

Commission chair Lia Heath said the drive-thru was approved because community members came to the meeting to speak in support of the project.

“It’s a benefit to the community and an improvement on the parking lot space where it’s going to be located,” she said. “We welcome a new business to the community and look forward to improvements to an area that has been vacant.”

The 3,370-square-foot building would include two tenant spaces at the center. The Novato Downtown Center has four buildings totaling approximately 99,200 square feet of floor area and 410 parking stalls, a staff report said.

In 2018, the former property owner submitted a use permit and design review applications for the project. In 2019, the city’s Design Review Commission stated concerns about the drive-thru and nearby Lee Gerner Park.

The City Council approved a design without a drive-thru in 2019, but the approval expired.