Government & Politics
Town Hall

P&Z Commission Member Richard DiDonna Resigns

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Planning & Zoning Commission member Richard DiDonna has resigned his seat on the board, Chairman Susan Cameron announced at Tuesday night’s meeting. The board is asking the Republican Town Committee to suggest replacement candidates, which the board will then choose. “He and his wife have bought a house in Florida,” Cameron said, and he expects to be spending part of the year there. “I want to personally thank him for his service on the commission.” DiDonna’s replacement will have to be either a Republican or unaffiliated voter, Cameron said.

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Closer rendering front and side 4-19-16

Shake Shack Now Faces Higher Hurdle in Darien, Even as P&Z Approves Application

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Shake Shack’s application to open a restaurant on the Post Road received unanimous approval from the Darien Planning & Zoning Commission Tuesday, but the major hurdle before another crucial town board recently got higher. The P&Z voted unanimously to approve the restaurant’s application to open a restaurant at 1340 Post Road, the former site of Chuck’s Steak House. But a major sticking point with town land-use officials over the restaurant’s application has always been the larger signs that Shake Shack wants — bigger than what town regulations currently allow. The largest proposed sign would be 22 inches high; town regulations now set the maximum at 10 inches. That argument is before the Zoning Board of Appeals, which recently hired a consultant to do a “peer review” on the signage proposed in Shake Shack’s most recent application.

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Closer rendering front and side 4-19-16

Shake Shack is Back Before Zoning Board of Appeals with a New Application

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Shake Shack is back before the Darien Zoning Board of Appeals with a new request to get approval for signs larger than the town zoning regulations currently allow. The reapplication has new arguments to justify signage slightly smaller than what the ZBA rejected in the original application for a zoning variance. The new application has a statement from a signage expert who writes that at least some of the signs need to be large enough for passing drivers to read from a safe distance before the driver decides to turn into the parking lot of the restaurant. What They’re Requesting

Other changes in the application are a reduction in the height of the front sign (Sign #1) by 2 inches (from 24 inches high to 22), moving the burger logo from spots near the top of the building walls down to where the signs are and removing a band of words from the building. Here’s what Shake Shack is asking the town to allow as variances from zoning regulations:

A sign on the southwest side of the building would remain at 15 inches high and
Putting the sign on the edge of the canopy on an angle from the side wall (from 8 feet, 8 inches to 10 feet, 6 inches away from the wall) instead of within 12 inches of the wall.

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Shake Shack 4-6-16

For Shake Shack in Darien: Wheels Are Turning, Proposal May Be Revived

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Developer David Genovese said at a public meeting Wednesday night that he and others are trying to work out a way for Shake Shack to reapply to town land-use officials for a permit to open at 1340 Post Road. “We’re back in conversations with Shake Shack, and we’re working on a compromise,” Genovese said at a meeting sponsored by Darien Library about a separate, much bigger proposal that Genovese’s Baywater Properties and Penny Glassmeyer’s PG Properties are proposing — the redevelopment of a large swath of downtown Darien along Corbin Drive and the Post Road. Shake Shack came up when Genovese opened the floor to questions. About 225 people packed the Community Room of the library to hear more about the redevelopment proposal. “We’re back in a dialogue, and we’re hoping to reapply in the next couple of days,” Genovese said.

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Shake Shack 3

P&Z Savors Shake Shack Proposal, But Board’s Chair Dislikes the Topping

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Planning & Zoning Commission Chair Susan Cameron doesn’t like the unusual roof line proposed by architects for Shake Shack, the popular high-end, fast-food joint with a new location proposed on the Post Road. Most of the roof starts high near the front of the building and slopes back toward the rear. At a commission meeting earlier this month, Cameron said she doesn’t like the modern look — she’d prefer something that looks more traditional — and pressed Shake Shack designers to reconsider. Cameron even brought to the meeting some images she’d found of Shake Shack restaurants (which the company calls “shacks”) that had more traditional roofs sloping forward to show to the architects. Hers was the most prominent criticism of the proposal at the Feb.