Drive-through Starbucks at The Garrison wins Planning Commission approval

NORTH STAFFORD — A drive-through lane was the central concern of a new Starbucks planned for The Garrison, a long-awaited development in North Stafford which promises a new movie theater, shops, and housing.

The Stafford County Planning Commission recommended approval of a conditional use permit which would allow the future Starbucks to operate a drive-through, in addition to serving customers who get out of their cars and walk inside to order food and drinks.

The new building would sit on about an acre of land and would face Garrisonville Road, adjacent to the planned entrance to the shopping center, across from Travis Lane. The project will now head to the Stafford Board of Supervisors for final approval.

Prior to blessing the drive-through permit, planning commissioners said they were concerned about cars stacking up while trying to enter the parking lot of the chain coffee house. If built, drivers must turn into The Garrison, turn right, and then make a second right to get to the coffee shop.

The entrance to the drive-through lane will sit at nearly the same spot as the second right turn. That, said Garrisonville District Planning Commissioner Barton Randall, would cause traffic backups onto the street.

He suggested the builder of The Garrison, Reston-based Pence Group, put the entrance to the drive-through lane on the other side of the building, at the front facing Garrisonville Road. That would be similar to a nearby Chick-fil-A restaurant.

Throughout this whole corridor, there is an issue with cars stacking up, and waiting at drive-throughs,” said Randall, who made the motion to approve the development.

The Garrison is expected to generate 26,000 vehicle trips per day, and about 10% of those would be at this Starbucks location, according to county documents. That doesn’t include trucks used to drop off food and supplies to the shop.

The Starbucks is a stark contrast from what was originally planned for the site — a bank branch, which had a smaller building with three drive-through lanes.

“It was going to be a bank, and banks don’t have semis, or box trucks making deliveries,” said Stafford resident Paul Waldowski, who urged commissioners not to approve the conditional use permit.

Garrisonville District Supervisor Mark Dudenhefer, on the Board of Supervisors, has advocated for The Garrison. He said the county needs to be flexible when it comes to the drive-through lane.

“They have thousands of Starbucks like this all over the world,” said Dudenhefer. “Who are we to say we don’t like the way they’ve designed their [car] stacking?”

Planning Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the permit. After years of delay, commissioners said they’re looking forward to The Garrison breaking ground.

“That is the number one thing I hear from residents in North Stafford — ‘Where’s the movie theater? Where’s the development?’” said Planning Commission Chairman Crystal Vanuch.

The Garrison is slated to feature an anchor grocery store, a multi-screen Regal Cinemas theater, restaurants, and housing. If built, The Garrison will become the county’s first, true mixed-use development.