Mount Pleasant planning panel clears Raising Cane’s drive-through on Mission Street

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Mount Pleasant’s Planning Commission on Oct. 8 approved a special-use permit for Raising Cane’s at 1516 S. Mission St., clearing a key local hurdle for a project staff says is aimed at a 2027 opening.

Central Michigan Life reported that commissioners voted unanimously for the permit after a public hearing. The application, labeled PSUP-SPR-26-002 in the city’s Oct. 8 packet, seeks special-use and site-plan approval for the chicken chain’s Mission Street location on a nearly one-acre parcel now occupied by a vacant commercial building, formerly La Senhorita, according to the staff report by Planning and Community Development Director Manuela Powidayko.

The packet describes a 3,031-square-foot restaurant with about 50 indoor seats and outdoor dining for roughly a dozen more patrons. The site plan shows double drive-through lanes sized for 22 vehicles, three mobile-order pickup stalls and 32 parking spaces, including two accessible spaces and three pickup spots. Proposed hours run from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m., with about 60 employees across four shifts and 15 on duty at peak times, the report says.

Staff recommended approval with conditions and noted a Zoning Board of Appeals variance already granted for the front setback. The design splits the Mission Street driveway into an entrance-only lane and a right-turn-only exit, following city and Michigan Department of Transportation guidance tied to pedestrian safety and a planned shared-use pathway, the packet says.

One resident, Joseph Carreon, spoke during public comment and urged attention to bicycle safety along Mission Street, Central Michigan Life reported. He said he supports the project and hoped the design would leave room for cyclists. The commission’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Nov. 5, according to the student newspaper.

Sources:
City of Mount Pleasant, Planning Commission meeting announcement and agenda packet, Oct. 8, 2026 (PSUP-SPR-26-002 staff report), https://cms2.revize.com/revize/mtpleasant/Planning_Community%20Development/Meeting%20Docs/Packet%2010-8_rev.pdf
City of Mount Pleasant, Planning Commission notice of public hearing, Oct. 8, 2026, https://cms2.revize.com/revize/mtpleasant/Planning_Community%20Development/Meeting%20Docs/Both%20PH%20Morning%20Sun%2010.8_mp.pdf
Bar Belian, “Raising Cane’s on pace to open in 2027,” Central Michigan Life, Oct. 9, 2026, https://www.cm-life.com/article/2026/10/d-canesvote-news-100926
Photo: Magicpiano, “MountPleasantMI HistoricDistrict4.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-adjusted; derivative under the same ShareAlike license. The photo shows downtown Mount Pleasant’s historic district and does not show the Raising Cane’s site, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MountPleasantMI_HistoricDistrict4.jpg

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