Borough Zoners Approve Japanese Restaurant-Bar

By Andrew Gorosko

The Borough Zoning Commission has approved construction of Mannen, a Japanese restaurant-bar at 28 Church Hill Road in the borough’s Village District zone.

After an August 23 public hearing, which had followed lengthy review of the development plans, commission members unanimously approved the project for the site, which lies diagonally across Church Hill Road from Hawley School. The property formerly held Newtown Computer and Financial Services, which has relocated.

The Mannen project will include the partial demolition of an existing structure at the 0.8-acre site to make way for new construction. The northern section of an existing building on the site will be demolished and replaced with new construction, with the southern section of the existing building being retained and renovated.

The applicant for the project is Kung H. Wei, who operates restaurants in Ridgefield and Vermont.

The new construction will be in the Colonial style, in seeking to keep the architecture in visual harmony with other structures in the Village District zone, according to architect Douglas MacMillan, who designed the project for Mr Wei.

Borough Zoning Commission members agreed to relax a zoning rule that requires buildings to be set back at least 50 feet from the street, allowing the Mannen project to set back about 31 feet from the street. Vehicle parking will be provided on the sides and rear of the building. Two driveways will serve the site. Approximately 3,700 square feet of the new construction will be reserved for restaurant use.

Besides the restaurant-bar, some space on the site will be reserved for office use.

Bubaris Traffic Associates of Ridgefield, which performed a traffic analysis for the applicant, found that the development, “should not adversely impact traffic operations on the surrounding roadway network in the year 2006, when the proposed development is expected to be completed and occupied.” The facility is expected to generate about 48 vehicle trips per hour during peak traffic-flow periods, according to Bubaris.

At its August 23 session, the Borough Zoning Commission granted three approvals for the project — a site development plan, a special exception to the zoning regulations, and a Village District zoning approval.

In reviewing the project, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) found it to be consistent with the 2004 Town Plan of Conservation and Development. P&Z members recommended that the borough zoners seek to obtain easements that would allow internal traffic flow between the Mannen property and adjacent commercial properties in order to reduce traffic pressure on the congested Church Hill Road.

Borough Zoning Official Jean St Jean said that although no such traffic easements are available now, such easements may be possible in the future.

Mr MacMillan suggested that the borough’s driveway access requirements be modified to allow Mr Wei to preserve an existing large tree near Church Hill Road.

The new construction would have Colonial design elements such as white painted clapboard siding and many wood-frame windows to provide a “residential feel,” he said. “Obviously, the restaurant is the main focus of the property,” he said.

Granite curbing would line Church Hill Road. A concrete sidewalk would be built there.