New coffee shop passes hurdles to come to Jasper
A Ziggi’s coffee shop is being planned for Jasper’s east side, near the new University Heights apartments.
The company, founded in 2004 in Colorado, is a specialty drive-thru coffee shop serving coffee, handcrafted drinks and a variety of eats and treats.
When built, the new coffee shop on the northeast corner of Meridian Road and Third Avenue will offer an extensive menu that includes specialty coffees, chai and teas, Fresherz, energy Infusions, smoothies, Italian sodas and more. It will also serve a variety of food items, including breakfast sandwiches, burritos and paninis, as well as breads, cinnamon rolls, scones, cookies and cake pops.
Plans for the new location were discussed during Wednesday’s regular Jasper Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. The business was seeking several exceptions for the location, including allowing a drive-thru only business in a B1 zone and adding an entrance/exit on Meridian Road within 150 feet of the intersection.
Residents in the area voiced concerns about adding the business to the busy intersection.
Cindy Franklin, who lives in the home next to the proposed franchise location, stated she has first-hand experience with how busy the intersection has become.
“We spend many hours on our front porch and in our yard, the intersection, controlled by a stoplight, is always extremely busy,” she told the board.
Mrs. Franklin said they have witnessed many moments of swerving vehicles, blown horns, and screeched tires as drivers narrowly avoid crashes.
She said with the three businesses already located on the corners of the intersection, it does not need another business causing even more congestion in the area.
Patty Hochgesang, who lives on Miller Lane about a block up from the intersection, told the board that she uses that intersection daily and has been rear-ended by another vehicle while waiting there. “Other times it could have easily happened,” she added.
Mrs. Hochgesang told the board that the busiest times of the day occur between 6 and 8 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., and from 4:30 to 4:15 p.m. “There is traffic going every different direction,” she said, adding that evening traffic was “crazy.”
“People are running to beat these lights, trying to do that thing all the time,” Mrs. Hochgesang said.
She told the board that she understood it was about progress and development but this type of business will only add to the congestion and could cause more crashes.
After closing the public hearing, the board discussed the safety issues briefly. According to the city, the developer has been required to include a concrete barrier in the Meridian Road entrance/exit to direct exiting vehicles to only turn right onto Meridian Road. A left-hand turn toward the intersection would not be allowed. Vehicles can also enter and exit from the Third Avenue entrance, which did not need a variance because it met set-back requirements.
This raised concerns about drivers turning right onto Meridian and then pulling into Citgo to perform a U-turn or use the parking lot to return to Third Avenue. It was noted that this would be an illegal maneuver, and the driver would be held accountable in the case of a crash.
Josh Gunselman, Director of Community Development/Planning, told the board that if the business weren’t a drive-thru-only establishment, they would not be considering a variance for that allowance.
He also pointed out that the city’s safety committee and engineering had reviewed the plan, and they felt that adding the concrete barrier was an acceptable solution for traffic control.
Doug Mitchell, representing Cash Waggner, the engineering firm handling the project, told the board he felt the additional traffic controls helped with the congestion. “This is actually creating a traffic pattern that might actually help the situation,” he said. “It is making drivers go a certain way around the intersection.”
The board unanimously approved the exceptions for the business to be located on the corner.
It isn’t known when work will begin on the project.
