Appeal Against Planned Fairfield Chick-Fil-A Falls Short Before ZBA

FAIRFIELD, CT — The town's Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday afternoon voted against an appeal of the planned Chick-fil-A restaurant on the Post Road in Fairfield, ruling that the appeal was not filed in a timely manner.

The Chick-fil-A is slated to move into 750 Post Road, the former Joe's American Bar & Grill that has sat vacant since 2019, and was deemed a blighted property in 2022.

Joe's American, a traditional sit-down restaurant, was in operation for about 20 years before closing, and attorney Joel Green, who represents property owners close to the planned Chick-fil-A, told the ZBA that the two restaurants are vastly different.

"Chick-fil-A does a robust and substantial take-out business," Green said, which is opposite of what Joe's American was like.

An earlier application for a Chick-fil-A was denied by the Town Plan and Zoning Commission, because a planned drive-thru would possibly cause traffic problems. Instead, to move the new restaurant forward, the drive-thru was scrapped at the location.

"Chick-Fil-A is a different category of use than Joe's American," Green said. "We're not saying they can't operate a Chick-fil-A at that site, it just needs a special permit."

Town Zoning Department staff issued permits last fall for exterior and interior renovations to the building, but it wasn't until April that Chick-fil-A confirmed it was coming.

Green argued that the appeal was filed within 30 days of that April date, but in a memo to the ZBA from Planning Director Jim Wendt, the appeal should have been made last fall when building permits were issued.

"No one had notice of the change in use last fall," Green said.

By a 4-1 vote on Thursday, the ZBA agreed with Wendt and attorney John Knuff, who represents the developers renovating the building for Chick-fil-A.

"The challengers are challenging the user, not the use," Knuff said, adding that the ZBA does not have jurisdiction to rule on the merits of the appeal, because the appeal itself was not filed in time. "I think this matter is as clear-cut as possible."

Board member Brian Avallone said that while he can see the differences in the between the Chick-fil-A and Joe's American, he believes Chick-fil-A did not skirt any requirements.

"I can't fault an applicant for being clever," Avallone said. "They were within the rules. The plans were submitted."

Board Chair Kevin Coyne agreed. "We have applications that don't specify who will be there. If we consider who will use the space and not the use itself, the application will never end."

Board Secretary Jane Gitlin Nishball was the sole vote to uphold the appeal.

"The staff decision to issue the permits was based on murky grounds," Gitlin Nishball said.