Is it a McDonald's?

Maybe a Taco Bell?

What about Popeye's Chicken?

At their meeting on Tuesday night, Aug. 7, members of the Barrington Planning Board hoped to learn which fast food restaurant chain was interested in repurposing the current BP gas station property on County Road.

They did not get an answer.

The developer, Ken Caputo, shared a brief presentation about the proposal. He said a tenant had not yet been signed up for the project, but that the list of possible tenants was down to less than five. 

Board member Bill Kurtz asked if Mr. Caputo would reveal which restaurant chain is the top potential tenant. Mr. Caputo said he was still in the negotiation phase and would not yet reveal that information. He said the tenant/restaurant would be announced when he submits the formal application. 

During an interview after the meeting, Mr. Caputo said it is standard policy to sign a confidentiality agreement with potential tenants during the negotiation phase. 

The planning board had to delay for a few minutes before starting the discussion about the BP gas station property. Four members of the board were present, but chairman Larry Trim had to recuse himself, as his home abuts the property. The other board members, Mr. Kurtz, Robert Humm and Ron Pitt, waited until Phil Bongiovanni arrived, making a quorum.

Mr. Humm stepped in as the chairman and told members of the audience — about two dozen people had gathered inside the council chambers — that there would not be any public comment during the BP gas station property discussion. He said there would be ample opportunity for public comment later in the process, after a formal application is filed.

Mr. Caputo offered some background on the property: He said the County Road lot is owned by Getty Realty Corp. which used to be Getty gasoline. Mr. Caputo said Getty Realty owns many former gas station properties across the Northeast, and has been in the process of repurposing some of the properties. 

Mr. Caputo said he had recently worked to repurpose a Getty property in Falmouth, Mass. into an urgent care facility. The County Road property in Barrington had initially been considered for a multi-tenant building (about 6,000 square feet in size), but officials later decided to trim back the size of the building to 2,400-square feet and focus on a single tenant.

Mr. Caputo said the interested tenants were in the food services industry and wanted to include a drive-through lane and window with the property. He said early plans also call for an outdoor seating area with tables and umbrellas that would look out onto County Road. 

"Our idea is to give the site a fresh start," said Mr. Caputo, adding that he hopes to develop a property that compliments County Road and the downtown shopping district. 

The concept calls for the restaurant to be set back off County Road and for parking to be located along the southern and eastern edges of the property — 30 spaces total. Mr. Caputo said the plan would call for landscaping to serve as a buffer to nearby homes.

The drive-through lane would enter off County, according to the early plan, circle around the back of the building, have a pickup window on the north side of the building, and then exit back onto County Road. 

Mr. Caputo said he was fully aware that a drive-through lane would require a special use permit. He appeared to be unaware, however, of the town's subdivision and land use standards. 

Toward the end of the meeting, Barrington Town Planner Phil Hervey told Mr. Caputo that the subdivision and land use standards require a drive-through window to be located at the rear of a building. The standards also restrict drive-through lanes from exiting onto County Road. 

Mr. Caputo said he had every intention of working with the community to find something that is a fit for the tenant and for Barrington. He said the potential tenants are national franchises but are not locked into a prototypical building design or prototypical color schemes. 

"We want the building to fit the community," he said. 

Regarding the drive-through lane, Mr. Pitt asked if that feature was important to the plan.

Mr. Caputo said it was: "The drive-through is a critical function to their operations."