7 Brew wins final approval for Hard Road drive-through

The Webster Planning Board granted final site plan approval for a 7 Brew drive-through coffee stand on Hard Road, clearing the project's last board hurdle at its July 7 meeting. The board voted unanimously to approve.

The approval covers a 510-square-foot prefabricated, double drive-through-only coffee stand on a 0.73-acre parcel on Hard Road, in the town's High-Intensity Commercial District. The applicant is Brew Team NY, LLC, the 7 Brew franchisee. Doug Beachel, the company's director of entitlements, presented the application. The board granted preliminary approval June 2, and last Tuesday's vote was the final sign-off the project needed before it can pursue building permits.

The final approval carries conditions. The most recent plan revision, dated June 29, governs, including updated landscaping that adds four trees across the front. Exterior lights must carry aluminum shielding, a fix the board accepted after learning the LED fixtures cannot be dimmed without flickering, with the shielding to be captured in the building-permit drawings. The drive-through menu speaker must have adjustable volume so it can be turned down if neighbors complain. On-site snow storage must include an under-drain, with excess snow trucked off-site. The approval expires July 7, 2027 if significant construction has not begun.

One condition drew a close look at the property's drainage. A board member said he had visited the site on the Sunday morning after Saturday's heavy rain to check that the swale was draining, and found the water had subsided. The same member noted that the neighboring Popeyes project had planted birch trees in the bottom of the shared swale, where he said they now sit in standing water. Later in the discussion, another board member caught two birch trees drawn inside the swale on 7 Brew's updated landscape plan, and the board's conditions bar any plantings in the swale.

A signage package was not part of the resolution. The applicant must submit a separate signage plan to town staff. The parcel does not yet have an assigned street address, which will be required on the building for emergency services.

The applicant told the board, “We're going to be moving quickly.”

AI tools were used in drafting and research.