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ZBA keeps Ready Coffee drive-thru hearing open as use-variance questions remain
Summary
The board left the public hearing open for Ready Coffee’s proposed standalone drive-thru at 1422 Route 300 after counsel said a use variance (not just area variances) may be required and that applicants must supply financial evidence to pursue a use variance.
The Town of Newburgh ZBA on March 26 left the public hearing open for a proposed standalone Ready Coffee drive-thru at 1422 Route 300 after board members and counsel questioned whether the proposal requires a use variance, not merely area variances.
Sean Peters, H2M Architects & Engineers, presented a plan for a small standalone drive-thru coffee facility on a compact parcel currently developed with a smoke shop. Peters noted nearby examples of drive-thru restaurants located on individual lots, but Town counsel David Donovan explained that the IB zoning district allows restaurants only in conjunction with shopping centers, theaters or office/business parks (Schedule 8), and that a standalone drive-thru on its own lot could qualify as a use variance. Donovan said a use variance requires a higher evidentiary burden, including financial proof that the property cannot be developed for permitted uses.
Board members voted unanimously to keep the public hearing open and asked the applicant to consult the Building Department about whether a use-variance route is necessary and, if so, to assemble the financial and legal evidence needed for such an application.
