2 New Fast Food Restaurants May Come To West Orange (See The Plan)

WEST ORANGE, NJ — A proposal is on the table to bring new Popeyes and Sonic restaurants to West Orange, with a hearing lined up for mid-May.

The zoning board of adjustment was slated to hear an application from MBP Realty for a property at 470 Eagle Rock Avenue during their April 20 meeting. That application was carried to the board’s next regular meeting, and will now be heard on Thursday, May 18.

Meetings of the West Orange zoning board are generally held at 8 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month in the council chambers at Town Hall, 66 Main Street. See the agenda and supporting documentation for the proposal online here.

According to planning documents, here’s what is in store for the property:

“The proposed project involves the demolition of the existing one-story building and construction of two one-story, free-standing fast food restaurants. One of the proposed restaurants will be a Popeyes restaurant and the other will be a Sonic restaurant. Both will contain drive-thrus. In total, 28 parking spaces will be provided on site.”

The site of the proposed new restaurants was formerly home to the China Gourmet cocktail lounge. It now sits vacant.

Multiple variances are required to complete the proposed project, which sits in a B-2 zone.

Here are some details about the proposal, according to an April 17 memo from town planner Paul Grygiel to zoning board members:

TREES – The applicant is proposing to remove all improvements on the subject property and construct two drive-through fast food restaurants: a Popeye’s and a Sonic. Thirty-three trees on the subject property are proposed to be removed. Of these, 21 are considered “viable” trees and require replacement. A total of 38 replacement trees are proposed: 17 major and 21 minor trees.

SIZE – The Popeye’s restaurant is proposed to have a floor area of 2,525 square feet and 24 seats. The Sonic restaurant is proposed to have a floor area of 1,616 square feet and a 764 square feet outdoor seating area. No indoor dining is proposed for the Sonic. A drive-through window is proposed for each restaurant, with an ordering station and menu board to the rear of each restaurant. Each drive-through lane is proposed to have queuing space for 10 vehicles.

SIGNS - Proposed signage includes two freestanding signs along the Eagle Rock Avenue frontage: a 20- foot tall, 49.43-square foot sign for Popeye’s and a 16-foot tall, 42.98-square foot sign for Sonic. Five façade signs are proposed on each building, on three sides of the Popeye’s building and four sides of the Sonic building. Site lighting includes 13 pole lights with mounting heights of 15 to 18 feet, five wall lights and 22 canopy lights.

DRIVEWAYS – Two, two-way driveways are proposed on Eagle Rock Avenue. The eastern driveway will be full movement, while the western one will only allow right turns out, with a center island proposed prohibit left turns out of it. Parking spaces are proposed in the front, side front and side yards. A total of 30 parking spaces are proposed, including two handicap spaces and three electric vehicle charging spaces. However, nine of these spaces located along the eastern property line are order locations for the Sonic restaurant. A 1,400-square foot canopy is proposed above these nine spaces. The height of the canopy is not provided.

WALKING/BIKE – A bicycle rack is proposed to the northeast of the Sonic restaurant. Two pedestrian connections are proposed from the sidewalk on Eagle Rock Avenue, one to each restaurant. A sidewalk connecting Fundus Road to Eagle Rock Avenue located in a five-foot wide sidewalk easement along the eastern property line is proposed to remain.

TRASH/LANDSCAPING – Two trash enclosures are proposed to the rear of the restaurants. The one for Popeye’s is proposed to be located 13.7 feet from the southern property line and the one for Sonic is proposed to be located 21.3 feet from the southern property line. A six-foot tall board on board fence is proposed to the south and west of the parking lot and circulation aisles. Landscaping is proposed between the fence and lot lines and elsewhere on the property. The proposed landscaping consists of nine shade trees, 29 evergreen trees, 59 evergreen shrubs, 52 deciduous shrubs, groundcover, perennials and ornamental grasses.

The memo noted that the Township of West Orange Site Plan Review Advisory Board reviewed the application with the developer’s representative, attorney, engineer, architect, traffic engineer and planner on Feb. 7.

“Most of the site plan and design issues that were discussed at this meeting have been addressed in the revised plans and supporting documentation submitted subsequent to the SPRAB meeting,” the memo states.

One item that hasn’t been addressed? The potential traffic impacts in the morning peak hour, assuming the proposed Sonic would be open at that time, the memo states.

Another concern is potential impact to the nearby neighbors, the memo adds:

“Another issue raised that has been partially addressed is the relationship to adjacent residential uses. As noted, there are two adjacent residences to the south, which are located in the B-2 zone. A buffer area has been added that was not included on the originally submitted plans. However, the potential impacts from noise, lights and odors due to the proposed locations of the trash enclosures and drive-through order boards should be addressed. An acoustical study focusing on the sound levels of the proposed rooftop mechanical equipment and intercom loudspeakers was provided by the applicant. The applicant should confirm whether there are intercoms proposed at the nine covered order locations for Sonic, and if so, whether they were included in the evaluation.”

The proposal has seen split opinions among West Orange residents.

“Land use should be the choice of the land owner,” one commenter wrote, responding to our earlier article about the plan. “I am glad to see a taxpaying business as opposed to an empty building we need to be welcoming to business of all types as it will help our taxbase.”

“Why fast food?” another person commented. “That brings undesirables instead of a family-based, sit-down restaurant such as Applebee’s, BGR Burger, Mexican restaurant or something other than fast food. Is West Orange that hard up for $$$ we’ll lower our standards?”

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