May 13th Update: THANK YOU! Wonder has officially withdrawn their application and will not open at 1897 Post Road!
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***HEARING MAY 13th, 7PM ROOM 206 TOWN HALL***
NOROTON NEIGHBORS OPPOSED TO “WONDER” AT 1897 POST ROAD
***ADDITIONAL 1,000 DELIVERY DRIVERS PER WEEK ON OUR ROADS***
***LESS SAFETY FOR OUR CHILDREN AND RESIDENTS***
***ONLY MAJOR CHAIN / NATIONAL BUSINESS IN NEIGHBORHOOD DISTRICT***
***MORE POLLUTION AND WEAR & TEAR ON OUR QUIET STREETS***
Wonder is a fast food chain restaurant that offers multiple types of cuisine in one location, specifically for delivery and takeout (they own GrubHub). It is a rapidly-expanding, national company valued at $7B. In the company’s own words, this is a hub and spoke model – they heat up the food in house, and delivery drivers pick it up for delivery across Fairfield County.
The town of Darien is considering granting a special permit for Wonder to open at the vacant space in 1897 Post Road (corner of Post Road and Dickinson). There is no entrance to this space on the Post Road – drivers will need to enter via Dickinson, likely cutting through Garden City, Clock, or Fitch, endangering the large number of kids out in the street on bikes, scooters, etc..
Why Should This Concern You?
This neighborhood is zoned as the Neighborhood Business District. The regulations state that any business in this area must demonstrate the ability to serve the local neighborhood and be compatible with the character of, and not detrimental to, the surrounding residential neighborhood.
1. Wonder is not a local business, and by design, it will not serve the local neighborhood – it will deliver food to people outside of the neighborhood from Old Greenwich to Stamford and Norwalk.
2. They are proposing business hours 7 days a week, between 11 am – 10 pm. They anticipate at least 30 drivers/hour at peak times (5 – 9 pm) – or over 1,000 cars per week. This is only an estimate – they are a rapidly growing business, and it could be many more. As the owners of GrubHub, they have the ability to flex up the delivery zone and crowd out other local restaurants thus increasing order volume.
3. There is little way to stop Uber, DoorDash and other courier drivers from cutting through our neighborhood to pick up food and make deliveries, who are incentivized to drive and deliver quickly. In fact, Google maps from I-95 to this location will route you through at lease two residential streets (Clock / Dickinson)
4. Our neighborhood, as is, is charming and promotes a rare “suburban” feel in a town that is becoming over-developed. Kids play in the street, parents walk their babies, families walk dogs. Adding 1,000 delivery drivers to the roads every week will decrease safety, increase air pollution, and inhibit residents from enjoying the neighborhood.
5. Safety risk for our Noroton Fire Station first responders. Delivery drivers waiting for orders or between orders may idle on the Post Road or on Dickinson near the Fire Station parking lot. This may result in delayed access to the station during emergency calls.
There are countless other reasons why we are opposed to this national delivery hub taking residence in our neighborhood.
Status of Application
The P&Z Commission has conducted two hearings and the matter is now closed for public comments. The Commission will reconvene on Tuesday May 13th at 7PM (room 206 Town Hall) to deliberate on this matter. P&Z has acknowledged the large number of public comments so let's hope they are paying close attention to our concerns. Although there is nothing we can officially do on the record at this point, we can continue to build public support against this proposal.
What else can we do?
1. Yard Signs - Please let Sheehan Murphy (SheehanMurphy@gmail.com or 646-457-0410) know if you would put one on your lawn.
2. Voice your concerns to Jon Zagrodzky (First Selectman - jzagrodzky@darienct.gov ).
Although he can't directly influence the board we feel it's important for there to be a general sense of concern at Town Hall around this project.
Our number one concern is around safety for our kids. The fact that we are introducing a large number of delivery drivers to quiet neighborhood streets represents a real risk to the safe and quiet enjoyment of our neighborhood. Feel free to reach out to our other elected town leaders as well. https://www.darienct.gov/328/Board-of-Selectmen
3. Contact local media outlets – Some neighbors are leading the charge on this but if you feel inclined, reach out to The Darien Times, The Patch, News 12, etc.
4. Show up in force at deliberations hearing May 13th, 7pm Room 206 Town Hall. The deliberations are public, but there is no ability to comment. We should have an overflow showing in the room that night.
Thank you from your neighbors!