Woodbury considers permitting certain food stands

The Woodbury Planning Board discussed the benefits and challenges of permitting food stands in the village during their March 5 meeting. The Woodbury Village Board is considering an amendment to the zoning law to allow food or ice cream stands in the limited commercial zoning district.

The proposed amendment would not include food trucks and approval would be by special permit only.

Among the concerns raised by the planning board and their consultants was how to calculate the appropriate amount of parking, with most agreeing that both the size of the stand and the seating area needed to be considered.

The board also discussed the potential wording of the law, leading some to question the definition of a food stand and that limiting the code to ice cream stand might alleviate the ambiguity. Planning Board Chairman Christopher Gerver commented that ice cream shops are different from other food stands, as service is quicker, since people aren’t waiting as long for food to be prepared.

To avoid the potential for applicants to push the boundaries of the law, the board agreed to advise the village board to potentially limit it to ice cream.

Shops at Woodbury

During the meeting, the board also continued its review of the amended site plan for the Shops at Woodbury in Central Valley. Among the issues discussed was whether the McDonald’s on the property can progress to include McDelivery service. This service would allow customers to park in designated spots to pick up orders made ahead of time. The board recommended that the applicant try to open without this service, as they would need to come back another time to seek approval for it.