There is a new Starbucks plan in Barrington, but it does not involve the former BP Gas Station property on County Road.

The new plan features a Starbucks opening in a different space inside the Barrington Shopping Center; there is Starbucks located near the eastern entrance to the shopping center — the application has the business relocating to the former JoS. A Bank store, where the state is currently conducting Covid-19 testing. 

The plan also includes a drive-through lane which would run along the western edge of the building, abutting the Shaw’s Supermarket parking lot.

The plan went before the Barrington Technical Review Committee last week as part of the pre-application process. Members of the town’s TRC recommended some revisions to the plan — adjusting the alignment of the drive-through lane after the pick-up window, providing safe pedestrian access from the East Bay Bike Path to the front door of Starbucks, adding bike racks, and moving or eliminating some of the parking spaces adjacent to the drive-through queuing lane.

The applicant is expected to make some changes to the plan before returning the TRC with a complete application. The plan will also need planning board and zoning board approval. The plan will need a special use permit for the drive-through and outdoor seating. 

Previous plan

It was about a year ago when the planning board denied a prior plan to bring a Starbucks restaurant to the former BP Gas Station property on County Road. 

At that time, board members said they supported the development of a new Starbucks in town, but not if it included a drive-through lane. More specifically, members said that plan’s drive-through lane did not comply with the town’s development plan review standards, zoning ordinance or comprehensive plan. 

Some members of the board said they were worried that traffic along County Road would be impacted by the drive-through lane — they even cited the town’s zoning ordinance 200-90 B, which states that "Traffic exiting from a drive-through facility shall not exit the parcel onto County Road.”

The former BP Gas Station property also abuts some residential lots. Planning board members and some people who live nearby said they were concerned about the exhaust from idling cars, and the noise from the vehicles and menu board.

Some people also questioned whether a drive-through lane for Starbucks fit the town’s goal of creating a more walkable community.