Do I need special approval for a drive-thru in Canton Township?

For a fast food or drive-through restaurant, yes, everywhere one is possible. It is a special land use in C-2 and C-3, requiring Township Board approval after a Planning Commission public hearing (Section 16.02.B.5; Section 17.02.B.8; Section 27.03). In C-4 it is narrower still: the restaurant must be accessory to and physically attached to a primary permitted use by at least one common wall (Section 18.02.B.2). The C-1 village district does not list the use at all.

The attached conditions:

• At least 125 feet of frontage (C-2 and C-3).
• In C-2, frontage on a thoroughfare with at least two paved moving lanes each direction and a single entrance drive; in C-3, coordinated access with adjoining sites is required.
• Parking at 1 space per 50 square feet of eating area plus one per employee, plus 10 stacking spaces per drive-through window (Section 4.01.C).
• Accessory playgrounds must be architecturally integrated (Section 17.02.B.8).

Banks and pharmacies with drive-up windows are not called out the same way; their treatment folds into the general use lists and site plan review, which is an interpretation to confirm with Planning Services. Expect the full special land use timeline: preliminary site plan, 15 day noticed hearing, Planning Commission recommendation, Township Board decision (Section 27.03).