Planning commission recommends approval for two-restaurant development at East 4th Street

Chester City Planning Commission members voted May 13 to recommend City Council approve a land development application for a two-tenant quick-service building at 701 East 4th Street, proposing a Dunkin' Donuts with drive-thru and a second quick-service restaurant, a 30-space parking lot and related site improvements.

The vote to recommend approval was unanimous, 5–0. The commission granted a waiver allowing a combined preliminary/final submission and a limited sidewalk waiver (replacement only where directly impacted by the development) and attached conditions requiring the applicant to address all comments in the city's engineering and planning review letters and to record required easements and legal documents. Commissioners agreed to remove the earlier condition requiring a supplemental traffic study after the applicant's traffic consultant presented the project's trip estimates and queuing analysis.

David Shaffquitz, counsel for Chester Donuts LLC, described the site and program during the presentation. "The site is about 1.75 acres," he said, and described a roughly 4,100-square-foot building divided into two restaurants with the Dunkin' Donuts occupying the drive-thru lane and the second tenant operating without a drive-thru. Shaffquitz told the commission the submission meets bulk, setback and parking requirements and that the applicant will comply with remaining technical engineering comments.

The commission heard a technical presentation from the project's traffic consultant (identified in the transcript as Dave Her), who said most visits to the site would be pass-by trips rather than newly generated travel on 291. The consultant summarized peak-period estimates and stacking capacity: "during the busiest time, generally you're going to have no more than six cars backed up," he said, adding that the design provides internal stacking and access to a signalized intersection on Harris Boulevard.

City engineering (Collier's) recommended clarifying some traffic and stormwater details; staff noted the applicant agreed to mill and overlay the local side streets they impact, which removed one outstanding waiver. The planning commission's recommendation includes standard conditions: full resolution of engineering review items, review and approval of easements and legal documents by the city solicitor, and satisfactory development-improvement and financial-security agreements before recordation.

Next steps: the commission's recommendation will be forwarded to Chester City Council for final action. The city's planning and zoning department will confirm that all engineering and legal conditions have been satisfied before any city-level approval is finalized.