Dunkin’ Donuts want to move into larger quarters in the Village Green Shopping Plaza.

After 16 years in business, the owner of Litchfield’s only fast food franchise wants to expand in the center of town.  Dunkin’ Donuts would move about 30 feet from its current location in the Village Green Shopping Plaza off Route 202, under a plan presented at Monday’s meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The donut shop would move into two-thirds of the space formerly occupied by Blockbuster, said Brian McCormick, a Torrington attorney. He represents plaza owner Mark Greenberg and franchise owner Sal Rocha.  McCormick proposed a zoning amendment that would allow relocation of a pre-existing, nonconforming use within the same shopping center.

The commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed amendment March 1 at 7 p.m. in the town annex building.

“Having come in as a legitimate business, it’s become part of the fabric of the community in the last 16 years,” said McCormick.  “We don’t think there’s going to be any change in the operation of Dunkin’ Donuts.”   The new location would be 627 square feet larger than the current store, an increase of 37 percent.  The additional space would be used for food preparation, storage, and more tables, McCormick said.

In 1994, Dunkin’ Donuts was approved by the commission as a bakery that sold prepared, ready-to-eat foods, because there were no regulations for fast food franchises.  The donut shop became a non-conforming use in 1995, when the commission changed the definition of a bakery and adopted rules that limit fast food franchises to the outskirts of town on Thomaston Road.

Commissioner Susan Lowenthal asked how many shopping centers would be affected by the proposal.  McCormick said it would allow current, nonconforming uses to relocate within three plazas in the B202 zone: The Yard, Village Green, and Federal Square.

Shopping centers are not defined in the town’s zoning regulations, said commission Chairman Barbara Putnam.

“If we don’t have a definition, I don’t see how we can limit it to just those three,” said Lowenthal.  She referred to a building on Route 202 near Milton Road that is occupied by several doctors. “Is that a shopping center?” she asked. 

Later, McCormick said the shopping center that contains the Dutch Epicure and other stores also would qualify under his proposal.

Putnam asked how many pre-existing, nonconforming business exist in town shopping centers.

“These things change over time, because your regulations change,” McCormick said.  He did not provide a number.   Dunkin’ Donuts conformed to zoning regulations, until the commission changed them, he said. 

His answer did not satisfy Lowenthal.

“I think, to be fair, you need to do your homework and find out how many pre-existing, nonconforming businesses there are in shopping plazas,” she said.

McCormick pointed out many local businesses have closed due to the poor economy.

“ I don’t see where there’s a detriment to the community when there’s a change within the same shopping plaza,” he said.

McCormick agreed to draft a definition for shopping centers.

Putnam requested reviews of the proposal by the commission’s attorney and town Planner Thomas McGowan.

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