Plans for a driveway inside the new Fry Street retail development will go back to the drawing board, after Denton planning commissioners rejected them Wednesday over safety concerns.

But the Houston-based developer of Fry Street Village scored victories when the Plan­ning and Zoning Commission ap­proved its other requests to ease city re­quirements on parking-space depth and right-of-way dedication.

Still, project manager Tim Sandifer of United Equities left the meeting angry.

“I’m upset with what’s transpired this evening,” Sandifer said. “I’ll meet with my architects and engineers, and I’m confident we’ll be able to work out this drive[way] issue.”

The outcome was a mixed bag for the several dozen project opponents who filled City Hall for the meeting. Former City Council member Mike Cochran, one of the leading opponents, praised the denial of the driveway, which city planners said was too close to the existing Cool Beans entrance to meet city code.

“We’re absolutely pleased that the commission upheld the standards of the community, and we think it will make for a better project,” Cochran said.

Critics also had opposed the developer’s request to make parking spaces 18 feet deep, rather than the required 20 feet. Commis­sioners approved the request 4-1 on the condition that stripes on the ground be angled in a way to maximize parking space.

Still undecided is a controversial plan to build a CVS Pharmacy drive-through that opponents say will jeopardize pedestrians’ safety in the heavily walked area just off the University of North Texas campus. Plan­ning commissioners and City Council mem­bers will vote on the drive-through at future mee­tings.

The drive-through overshadowed Wed­nes­­day’s meeting, since the denied driveway would have served as an entrance off Hick­ory Street to the drive-through and a parking lot.

Planning commissioners rejected the driveway, even though one already exists there, because it’s less than 10 feet from the Cool Beans driveway. The entrances were built before current city rules took effect requiring at least 200 feet between driveways on arterial streets, officials say.

Residents who spoke during the meeting said two busy driveways so close together would endanger pedestrians and block traffic.

“I could understand shaving off some [space between them], but this is egregious,” resident Donna Morris said.

Representatives of United Equities argued that the placement best fit in with their plans for a pedestrian-friendly project, since it limited traffic flow inside the development.

Before the meeting, Sandifer said that if commissioners denied the driveway location, he would relocate it to the east and remove a planned breezeway containing historic photographs of UNT and Fry Street history.

After the vote, Sandifer would not discuss the breezeway’s future.

Cochran said the real battle would be over the drive-through itself, which will require a special-use permit from the planning commission and City Council. He shrugged off Sandifer’s threats about the breezeway and dismissed the photograph project as a publicity stunt.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” Cochran said. “I think most people see through that.”

Local landscape company owner Andre “Frenchy” Rheault spoke in favor of the development, rejecting critics’ dire predictions.

“I personally think that this gloom and doom that we keep talking about on Fry Street isn’t going to materialize,” he said.

United Equities bought most of the block bordered by Fry, Oak, Welch and Hickory streets last year and announced plans to redevelop it. The news spurred protests from residents who wanted to save existing businesses and buildings, some dating to the 1920s.

The developer demolished many of the buildings this summer but has pledged to replace them with structures that integrate similar architectural features.

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com