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Two restaurants seek approval from North East Planning Board

Two restaurants seek approval from North East Planning Board
Pending approval from the Planning Board, the former site of McDonald’s on Route 44 in Millerton has been proposed as the new home of Tallow, an alternative to traditional fast-food.
Photo by Krista A. Briggs

MILLERTON — The Town of North East’s planning board met on Wednesday, Feb. 12, to discuss two site plan applications for restaurants — Town Gourmet Market and Tallow.

The conversation around Town Gourmet Market, to be located in the Millerton Square Shopping Center, centered on the design of the parking lot, lighting and the construction of a greenhouse building.

The board suggested looking into increasing the sizes or the number of tree islands which are on the current plot.

Bill Kish, planning board member, raised a concern about proposed copper material for the exterior of the building, noting that having it pre-patinaed would reduce the intense glare.

Representatives from Town Gourmet Market expressed interest in turning off all of the lights between midnight and 6 a.m.

“I think we should approve midnight as the cutoff,” said board member Leslie Farhangi,” who suggested lights could also be turned off earlier.

The logistics around operation of the greenhouse have not been determined by the applicant, but will need to be approved separately by the board.

Austin Cornell, representing Tallow, to be located in the former McDonald’s lot on Route 44, also appeared before the board.

Approval of Tallow’s application is contingent, in part, on the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) approval of a plan for installation of an electronic menu sign with the development of a drive-through.

“If the code doesn’t allow it, you can’t approve it, and that would be an issue for the ZBA,” said Planning Board attorney Chris Langlois.

“This type of sign will matter so much is because it needs to be dynamic,” said Austin Cornell, who raised concerns about the need for periodic menu updates.

The current drive-through on the property raised questions about conformity with zoning codes. Langlois noted with improvements suggested, there could be a strong chance of ZBA approval but that it is ultimately up to the ZBA.

Members of the Planning Board also expressed concern about lighting on the property, particularly in relation to the brightness.
The applicant must next go before the ZBA to receive approval before appearing again before the planning board.

Colleen Flynn
government

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