New Chipotle Branch Slated for Golden Mile

There are also Chipotles on Wormans Mill Road in Frederick and on Buckeystown Pike in Westview Promenade, according to the Chipotle website.

In an interview after the meeting, Ben Hoskins, president of Southside Investment Partners, described Chipotle as a “top of class user” that is respected in the community. Hoskins said groundbreaking would occur later this year, with an opening slated for early 2017.

Chipotle is leasing the site from Southside Investment Partners. The 999 W. Patrick St. property is owned by West Patrick Hospitality LLC, according to state property tax records.

The commission’s approval came with a series of conditions that the developer must meet before construction can begin. They include requirements for the developer to designate pedestrian routes from Baughman’s Lane and the adjacent Motel 6 to the new Chipotle.

A third condition is that the developer might be required to pay for signs at either end of the median that will be constructed on Baughman’s Lane to prohibit motorists from making U-turns.

The median separating traffic down Baughman’s Lane will be added as part of the project to construct a Wawa on the other corner of Baughman’s Lane and U.S. 40.

The Chipotle project plans also call for a median on the southern access point to the site, restricting incoming and outgoing traffic to right turns only. Several commission members expressed concern that the two medians would cause motorists leaving Chipotle to turn right on Baughman’s Lane, then make a U-turn to head toward U.S. 40.

Commission member Ron Burns proposed a “no U-turn” sign to prevent this. Tracy Coleman, the city’s deputy director of engineering, said she did not know if the street would fail the requirements for U-turns.

Ultimately, commission members agreed to add this as a condition if the city engineering department determines the lane width to be inadequate for U-turns and no signage currently exists.

The project incorporates several design features outlined in the city’s small area plan for the Golden Mile, including improvements to on-site traffic flow and better pedestrian and bicyclist access, according to the report submitted by Brandon Mark, a city planner. The building’s proximity to U.S. 40, with just a 100-foot setback from the street, will also “animate the street with active space,” the report stated.