Zoning board approves Taco Bell with drive‑through at 32 Parsonage Road despite neighborhood objections
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Summary
Edison zoning board unanimously approved a 2,114 sq ft Taco Bell with a drive‑through at 32 Parsonage Road, granting a use variance and several dimensional waivers while imposing conditions including early‑morning garbage pickup, irrigation, added screening and operational controls for noise and deliveries.
The Edison Township Zoning Board of Adjustment voted unanimously to allow a new Taco Bell with a drive‑through at 32 Parsonage Road after the applicant narrowed some elements of the plan and agreed to several conditions meant to reduce residential impacts.
Applicant Steven Hale said the proposal replaces an existing T‑Mobile building with a 2,114‑square‑foot restaurant that would operate roughly 7 a.m. to midnight with the drive‑through open to 2 a.m. He described several design changes made after technical review committee meetings, including reducing building area and increasing the buffer to adjacent residences. Engineer Brian Enes described a revised layout with 20 parking spaces (15 required by ordinance), two mobile‑pickup stalls, two employee stalls and a 9‑car stacking lane. "The menu board is about 87 feet from that rear property line," Enes told the board, noting the applicant had pushed the operation as far forward on the lot as feasible.
Why it matters: the drive‑through is a D‑use variance in the general business zone unless the parcel is part of a shopping center; the site sits across from Menlo Park Mall and adjacent to multifamily housing, generating resident concerns about noise, traffic and litter.
Neighbors voiced strong objections. Michael Petrillo, who said he lives directly behind the site, told the board: "This is a complete disaster. Do not pass this." He raised noise, truck traffic and safety concerns, including children crossing nearby streets. Another resident asked for trash receptacles on site; the applicant agreed to provide them.
Experts testified that stacking, circulation and traffic impacts are manageable. Traffic consultant Gary Dean presented a gap analysis and said the proposed ingress/egress configuration provides adequate opportunities for left‑turning motorists from Mason Street into Parsonage Road, and that Taco Bell’s queuing and turnover characteristics reduce spillover risk onto public streets. Planner Matthew Flynn said the location is compatible with nearby auto‑oriented uses and that the applicant substantially improved buffering and landscaping since the original submission.
Conditions and limitations the board recorded include twice‑weekly trash pickup during early morning hours (approximately 6–8 a.m.), addition of on‑site garbage receptacles, an irrigation system to support the buffer plantings, coordination on delivery timing to minimize blockage of accessible routes and adherence to state noise standards for order‑board volume. The board considered but did not adopt a board‑imposed 12 a.m. drive‑through curfew; the applicant indicated the 2 a.m. drive‑through hour is typical for the operator and did not agree to a 12 a.m. limit.
Board action: Vice Chair O'Gorman moved to approve the application subject to the stated conditions, and the board approved the motion by roll call. The resolution will include the specific construction and operational conditions discussed at the hearing.
