Westborough Selectmen OK Drive-Through at East Main Street Dunkin' Donuts

A proposed East Main Street drive-through that's in Land Court received Westborough selectmen's site plan approval Tuesday night, with conditions.

However, the restaurant's attorney expressed concern about one condition: that his client widen and re-stripe Colonial Drive for four lanes, two per direction, to facilitate customer queueing. Attorney Donald Borenstein said his client proposes widening Colonial Drive at the developer's expense, creating the "best solution": a shoulder that would "facilitate emergency vehicle access."

Selectmen voted 4-1 for the site plan approval decision, with Denny Drewry opposed, and then closed their public hearing on the matter. Drewry said he wanted to see a final version before signing it.

Selectmen previously denied site plan approval, a decision the applicant appealed to Land Court. The court remanded the decision back to selectmen, town officials said. Borenstein said the decision remains on appeal.

Selectman George Barrette said that "I'm against a drive-through at the Dunkin' Donuts. However, based on the information I've gotten, the reality is that (given) the zoning changes we made," the board has "no choice."

"However, I will not vote for anything less than four lanes. I think that's crucial," Barrette said.

"This is not Dunkin' Donuts Drive. It's Colonial Drive."

Before the vote, Barrette read the conditions into the motion.

Among those conditions were: to create a five-foot area for snow storage along Colonial Drive; and, at the police chief's discretion, to hire a police detail at East Main Street at Colonial Drive if necessary "to prevent vehicles queueing onto East Main Street." The drive-through traffic would affect a number of businesses in that area, selectmen said.

Borenstein presented selectmen with a sketch showing vehicles queueing on the Dunkin' Donuts property.

He said a review by the town's traffic engineer showed the worst-case queueing issue would last "six minutes in the worst hour in the worst month."

Selectmen Vice Chairman Ian Johnso said he had "not heard from one single resident in favor of putting in a drive-through" at that location.

Drive-throughs were not allowed when that Dunkin' Donuts was built, Johnson said.