Testimony on Ryders Lane application to continue at Oct. 1 meeting
By sandi carpello
Staff Writer
Nearly 60 Milltown residents packed Borough Hall Tuesday for the first hearing on an application to build a Wendy’s restaurant on the site of the 52-year-old Ryders Lane Farmers Market.
After three hours of testimony and discussions, the Planning Board, requesting that Wendy’s make several modifications to its proposed site plan, decided to continue hearing the application at an Oct. 1 meeting.
During the meeting, residents contested the applicant’s intention to construct the 3,140-square-foot, 90-seat restaurant at Ryders Lane and Blueberry Drive, less than 200 feet from a residential area.
"Our friendly community’s charm will continue to waver. We are afraid we will have another Route 18," said Lynn Kelly, a resident of Blueberry Drive.
According to residents living in the Blueberry Drive vicinity, building a fast-food restaurant on the site will have a negative impact on the quality of life, prompting increased traffic and heightened safety concerns.
"Children will be unable to enjoy the safety that our children had," said Pat Hudak, also of Blueberry Drive, who has been living in the neighborhood for 35 years.
Resident Kevin Kelly, who said he has obtained nearly 500 signatures in a petition to oppose the Wendy’s project, said he is concerned the restaurant’s construction would bring to the neighborhood offensive odors, rodents and light pollution.
In addition, many residents fear that noise from the site, such as the sound of sanitation vehicles, will also be problematic, he said.

