Tim Hortons over drive-through plan leaves bad taste for Kelowna city staff

TIMS COULD WALK IF IT DOESN'T GET WHAT IT WANTS

KELOWNA – A tussle over the drive-through might mean one fewer Tim Hortons in Kelowna.

City staff are recommending against allowing a development permit for Mission Group Commercial to construct a building to the specifications requested by potential tenant Tim Hortons.

Tims wants to run its drive-through line parallel to Airport Way, according to a report prepared by planner Adam Cseke, giving it greater capacity but potentially leaving a line of idling cars as the first thing a visitor sees when leaving Kelowna International Airport.

“The intersection of Highway 97 and Airport Way represents a high profile gateway area to and from the City of Kelowna,” he says.

Cseke says Tim Hortons wasn’t interested in a lower profile drive-through configuration, offering only to screen the line with shrubs and landscaping.

The area is governed by a comprehensive development agreement and council must consider each development permit application separately.

Cseke says city planners have begun a more strict interpretation of the guidelines around drive-throughs and for high-profile locations.

Kelowna city councillors will consider the request at the regular council meeting, 1:30  p.m., Feb. 1 at City Hall.

To contact the reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.