On April 12th, 2022, the Bloomfield Planning Board first reviewed an application submitted by Finomus Bloomfield RE Holdings, LLC regarding the previous Friendly’s lot at 1243 Broad Street in Bloomfield. The proposed plan included a combined Taco Bell and Wendy’s that has received a lot of pushback from local residents. Many revisions and meetings later, on December 6th, 2022, the board officially denied the plan, citing safety and aesthetic concerns with the property. Now, the denied applicants have filed a lawsuit against the town, challenging the decision and seeking its reversal. Read on for all the most recent updates on the denied Taco Bell and Wendy’s at 1243 Broad Street in Bloomfield.
(Photo credit: Creative Commons —Mike Mozart of TheToyChannel + JeepersMedia on YouTube)
The Lawsuit
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The decision to deny the proposed Taco Bell and Wendy’s by the Bloomfield Planning Board is now the subject of a lawsuit. According to Bloomfield Pulse, the denied applicants have filed a civil suit against the town at the superior court of NJ Essex County, challenging the decision and seeking its reversal. You can find the full suit here. There is also a citizen-led petition to prohibit the business from coming to the location at 1243 Broad Street due to increased traffic, safety concerns, and noise pollution + increased litter — which already has over 1,000 signatures.
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The Original Plans + Denial
On December 6th, 2022 in the Bloomfield Planning Board’s monthly 7PM meeting, the board officially denied the proposed Taco Bell + Wendy’s combination storefront sought to open at 1243 Broad Street. The application, submitted by Finomus Bloomfield RE Holdings, LLC, was first brought to the board back in April of this year and received major pushback from local residents.
The developers planned to knock down the already existing building at the lot (previously a Friendly’s) to reconstruct the dual fast food location. After several revisions, the final rendering of the project featured 29 parking spaces in front of and behind the building.
According to posts in the Bloomfield Pulse Facebook group, the frontage parking was cited by the board as one of its reasons for the denial, as street-facing parking lots are not characteristic of other businesses in the town. Additionally, the proposed model situated the building 25 feet back on the lot, a revision made by the developers in September. The planning board ruled that, because of the setback, the building would be too close to residents behind the building.
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The board also raised several safety concerns with the property, which have been present among locals and board officials alike throughout the entire proposal process. Per Patch, the lot is located across the way from Brookdale Elementary School, and Bloomfield residents have feared that an influx of traffic at the site could pose a threat to children.
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As of now, the applicant has the right to rework their application and once again vie for the board’s approval. We, of course, will update you with more details as they unfold.
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