FAIR HAVEN – Controversy is still percolating over a Dunkin’ franchise coming to the Fair Haven shopping center on River Road. Some residents are in favor of the coffee and donut shop. Others argue that it will negatively impact traffic, safety and the “small-town feel” of Fair Haven. One homeowner has even taken legal action against the planning and zoning boards.
The discontent is why the borough council recently established an ad hoc restaurant committee, comprised of a few elected leaders and representatives of the business community. On Oct. 29, the committee met with the public for the first time to find out what Fair Haven really wants in town. They plan to bring recommendations to the full council.
“The unique part of this is the public asking, and the council agreeing, that the process should be a public larger discussion,” said Todd Lehder, chairman of the restaurant committee, planning board and zoning board. Lehder, a commercial real estate attorney, highlighted the importance of public engagement in the visioning process and said the mayor and council were “very supportive” of the idea.
The committee explained the purpose of the meeting and the rules under the municipal land use law to attendees Oct. 29. Then residents were asked to get crafty. The committee posted names of different food chains on the walls and residents affixed stickers – green for approval, red for disapproval – on them. Chains displayed were small and large, local and nonlocal, and healthy and not-so-healthy, to see if there was a pattern among responses. Some restaurants like Charlie Brown’s and Perkins received several red stickers, while others like Toast, with locations in Red Bank and Asbury Park, received several green stickers.
By presenting familiar names and logos of restaurants, the committee could observe patterns in what is liked and what is not liked, Lehder said.
Resident Tracy Cole said the town is “fortunate” to have local independent retailers, such as River Road Books. “These are treasures,” she said.
According to Pat Quigley, zoning board member and longtime resident, the restaurant committee is a positive for the town. “It will presumably clarify the ordinance regarding what types of restaurants are permitted in Fair Haven,” she said, adding that the Dunkin’ application was “difficult to interpret” and unclear.
She also said there has been some commitment toward public input and transparency. “And that’s pretty heartening because there was a feeling when the Dunkin’ application was pending that maybe the public wasn’t being considered enough,” she said. But the restaurant committee is addressing that and making the process more transparent, she said.
That was a concern addressed by some residents, including Mark Rothenberg. “I question the ability of the community at this point to truly influence the work of the committee, but I suspect that that remains to be seen,” he said. He speculated that the public is looking for commercial shops that offer something that is currently missing in the community, like a pharmacy. Residents are open to other food services, he added, “but not drive-thrus or quick-service restaurants.”
There were also conversations about the signs and aesthetics of fast food chains at the meeting. Lehder said people seem to be focused on maintaining the character of the town and that the introduction of fast food “would somehow undermine that character.”
Meghan Chrisner-Keefe, newly elected councilwoman, said she is pleased that the committee is meeting publicly so that residents can watch the process unfold and can engage in the issues. She called the meeting “an effective tool” that allowed for open dialogue and conversation, and said that Lehder “allowed very open cross-communication to happen in a really informal way.”
Resident AnnMarie Coon said she’s looking to see community members’ interests upheld, “whether that means new ordinances needing to be written or adherence to ordinances already in our codes or in our plans,” she said.
“I think Fair Haven is a great little town and people are really committed to keeping it that way and having it have that small-town feel,” she said, adding that big-name national brands can bring traffic to the same area where children walk and bike to school.
