Zoning commission approves Meeker's restaurant special permit, conditioned on revised floor plan

The Danbury Zoning Commission unanimously approved a special permit on Sept. 24 for Meeker's Restaurant, a proposed 92-seat restaurant with liquor service at 86–90 White Street, but conditioned its action on receiving a revised floor plan that reflects staff's requirements.

Associate planner Ali Smith's revised letter approved a site-plan waiver for the roughly 2,640-square-foot restaurant, specifying a maximum of 92 seats (12 bar seats and 80 dining-room seats), a 572-square-foot accessory office on the second floor, and 23 on-site parking spaces allocated to the restaurant use. The letter said 4,201 square feet of the building must remain vacant until additional parking is provided and emphasized that any future changes to tenant space would require further approval from Planning and Zoning.

Attorney Tom Beecher, representing owner Luis Mateo, told the commission the building is on the National Register of Historic Places and that the applicant has invested in restoration. Beecher said the second-floor plan has been revised to remove a previously proposed event space and that the applicant will provide a revised floor plan prior to issuance of the special permit. Beecher also cleared up that the restaurant intends to be primarily food-focused, with late hours (10 a.m. to midnight Monday–Thursday and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday–Sunday) but no overnight entertainment or dance venue unless additional permits are sought.

Planning director Waleed Al Bakri and Deputy Director Emminger noted a discrepancy between the submitted plans and the 25% accessory-office limit; the building permit for upstairs work is on hold pending plan revision. Staff recommended conditioning issuance of the special permit on receipt of a revised floor plan that shows the event space and certain upstairs bathrooms as vacant space. Several commissioners urged allowing plumbing "rough-in" work during current construction to avoid future added expense; staff said it would coordinate with the zoning enforcement officer to determine what work could be done without violating the waiver.

Public comment in support came from Allison Meeker Hallis, the daughter of the former owner of Meeker's Hardware, who said converting the property into a Peruvian-American restaurant preserves the building and contributes to downtown revitalization.

Commissioner Botello moved to accept and pass the special permit, conditioned on receiving the revised floor plan; Commissioner Nejame seconded. The motion carried unanimously.