A plan for a drive-through coffee kiosk that would have been placed in front of Wire and Wood Coffeehouse at 5035 W. Andrew Johnson Highway in Mosheim was dropped by the property owner Thursday night at a meeting of the Mosheim Planning Commission. Property owner John Crafton originally wanted to place a drive-through coffee structure in front of his building near U.S. Highway 11E, but abandoned the idea Thursday night after a disagreement with the Planning Commission about the exact location of the kiosk.
Community Planner Conor Franklin said that the proposed site for the kiosk was too close to the property line, and would require a front setback variance. Structures must be set back 30 feet from a property’s front line according to Mosheim’s regulations. The proposed site of the kiosk was less than 10 feet from the property line. Franklin and members of the Planning Commission noted that they did not want to create an exception for the placement of the kiosk, which would lead to the commission setting a precedent that it was not comfortable with.
Franklin pointed out other areas on the property where the kiosk could be located without requiring a variance, but Crafton said he felt there would be issues with traffic flow and that the kiosk could be on the wrong side of cars attempting to get coffee.
Crafton said he harbored no ill will toward the Planning Commission, and that he would abandon the idea of the kiosk since he could not place it in his desired location. “If I can’t put it up near that property line to give people access to it and not screw up the parking lot, then I’m not going to do it,” Crafton said. “I appreciate all your time. I respect your opinion.”
Crafton then invited the members of the Planning Commission to come enjoy the Wire and Wood, an acoustic listening room and coffeehouse, on Tuesday evenings.
