I'm all for mixed-use development. In fact, I think the spot is great for a coffee shop. The issue for me, as well as the zoning commissioners and the majority of the surrounding neighborhood, is the drive-thru. Specifically, it's a very large drive-thru. We have already seen chic fil a's drive-thru cause congestion and accidents just down the road. The lot's size and location (across from an elementary school) just can't accommodate it. That's why it had a zoning restriction on it to begin with. A coffee shop or any other business without a drive-thru could have used the land without having to push it through countless zoning and council meetings. In the current case, the shop won't benefit and integrate with the actual community that will live around it. It's important to think about development in terms of placemaking. In other words, are we developing places we want to spend time in? Or are we developing disparate, quick destinations that you simply drive to and leave (drive-thru). That said, I understand that we don't attract a lot of fitting projects, so it feels like we are too picky and should settle for anything that feels like it could benefit the local economy even a little. However, these choices tend to haunt us when they become trends. And once the quick spurt it has on the economy tires out, the city still has to keep up with the surrounding infrastructure... and what are we left with? A chain drive-thru that employs a handful of people and makes it even harder for parents to walk their children to school?