Boone County could be getting its next Wendy’s, thanks to a recent recommendation from the planning commission.
On Dec. 4, the Boone County Planning Commission recommended approval of a zoning map amendment from “Mobile Home Park” to “Commercial Four” to make way for a new drive-thru fast food restaurant. The next step is for the Boone County Fiscal Court to give final approval.
The Wendy’s is expected to be 2,300 square-foot building with 29 total parking spaces, including two ADA, three delivery pickup, and two mobile order pickup spaces.
The Boone County zoning code describes Commercial Four as a zoning designation for commercial services, either retail, recreational, or office uses, near arterial or interstate highways. Mt. Zion Road is one of the most prominent arterial roads off I-75 in Boone County. The new Wendy’s will join other fast-food restaurants, professional offices and gas stations along the road.
“The (zone change) committee concluded that the proposed C-4 district is consistent with the future land use map, which identifies the site for commercial uses,” planning commission surveyor Steve Lilly said. “The submitted concept development plan shows a construction of fast food restaurant with drive-through service consistent with those uses.”
Edgewood-based developer Sinkula Investments is a prominent franchisee of Wendy’s restaurants in Northern Kentucky, owning locations in Florence, Alexandria, Edgewood, Newport, Dry Ridge, Cynthiana, Covington, Union, Latonia, Hebron, Cold Spring and at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
Currently, the 1.2-acre parcel is located at the southwest corner of Mt. Zion Road and Lakeside Drive. Construction of Wendy’s would impact five mobile homes on the street, including those at 10013, 10017, 10021, 10025, 10029 and 10033 Lakeside Drive. The home’s existing utility connections and parking pads will be removed to make way for the Wendy’s.
Under the development plan, the five mobile homes will be demolished to make way for Wendy’s. The ‘Our Boone County Plan 2040’ — a comprehensive plan that includes a future land use map, identifies the mobile home park as a site that should be developed for future commercial use.
The plan outlines appropriate commercial uses such as retail, corporate and professional offices, interchange commercial, indoor commercial recreation, restaurants and services.
The mobile home park has already undergone some changes over the past year. In January, the Boone County Fiscal Court approved a zone change from Mobile Home Park to Commercial Four to make way for a new McDonald’s at 245 Mt. Zion Road. The project was anticipated to impact seven single-family mobile homes located along Carpenter Drive.
Regarding traffic, incoming cars will enter the Wendy’s parking lot through Lakeside Drive, which is a private road. Brock MacKay, vice president of landscape architecture at Viox & Viox, who represented Sikula Investments at a Sept. 18 meeting, said the new surrounding traffic lights on Mt. Zion Road should be able to support the signal capacity with the Wendy’s. For context, the new McDonald’s is located directly to the east of the proposed Wendy’s.
“We kind of add those numbers up, it ends up being in about the 14 to 18 car range of what would actually be flushed out of the two sites, which actually works pretty well with the signal capacity,” MacKay said.
