Revised Milford eatery plan adds heads for P&Z review
MILFORD — Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers has restarted the clock on its efforts to build what would be its newest location, and the state’s third such franchise, on Route 1.
The popular fast-food brand submitted its second proposed parking regulation change earlier this month to build on a former Milford Bank site at 1455 Boston Post Road. The Planning and Zoning Board could start reviewing the proposal in late May, City Planner David Sulkis said Monday.
If all goes well for Raising Cane’s, it could start construction by early fall, Sulkis said — assuming a June approval of its proposed regulation change, a quick submission and approval of its building plans and a fast start to construction.
“They need their regulation change for their site plan to work. They will develop their site plan once they get the regulation change,” he said. “If they are heard by the end of May, then it is possible they can be approved by July, but that really depends on their schedule for when they submit stuff.”
Attempts to reach Raising Cane’s were not immediately successful.
Besides bringing “Caniacs” to Milford, the proposal would update city regulations by creating a “Fast Food Restaurants” designation within city regs, which addresses a fast-food trend toward smaller buildings and reduced seated meal service. It would allow Raising Cane’s and other drivethrus 1 parking space for every 57 square feet of interior customer seating and standing area, plus one space for every two employees during themaximum shift, according to the proposal.
“They’re doing the calculation differently to suit their kind of restaurant,” Sulkis said. “It (the ratio) is not an apples-to-apples comparison.”
The city’s other categories allow for different ratios based on gross floor area, a different measure: 1:50-square-foot ratio for taverns and cafes; 1:250 for take-out eateries; and 1:75 for typical restaurants. The restaurant requirement, though, also include service-preparation areas.
Raising Cane’s developers had originally proposed a 1:150-gross-floor-area ratio. The city rejected that, saying that reducing all city restaurant parking lots that much would create excessive spillover parking on city streets. Attorney Sara Sharp, representing the company, had argued that the present ratio was outdated and “results in too much parking, especially in fast food where people are going to use the drive-thru instead of dining in.”
The current proposal sets “a new parking standard that is consistent with patron floor area parking ratios most frequently used in other Connecticut towns,” according to the proposal. “Given modern drive-through habits, it makes little sense to require a fast-food/drivethrough-type restaurant to provide the same number of parking spaces that a regular sit-down restaurant would be required to provide.”
Raising Cane’s first state outlet, in Enfield, opened in February. The franchise announced then that it plans to begin construction in Wethersfield in the spring of 2025. That restaurant is slated to open by early 2026. Raising Cane’s is also planning to build an outpost in Simsbury, which was approved by the town’s zoning commission in July.