Council approves South Street Plaza drive‑through permit with hours limit

The Holyoke City Council approved a special permit for a drive‑through restaurant at South Street Plaza on March 4, adding a new condition on the council floor that limits drive‑through operating hours to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

The permit, recommended by the Development & Government Relations Committee with 32 conditions from the planning board's site-plan review, covers a proposed Dunkin' location at South Street Plaza. Councilors said the item had been worked and reworked in committee and by planning staff, and that committee members had negotiated the conditions with the petitioner.

Councilor Bartley introduced an amendment on the floor specifying hours of operation for the drive‑through: “the drive thru shall be open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.,” and the council voted to make that hours condition take precedence over any conflicting condition listed earlier. The clerk recorded a 12–1 roll‑call vote to approve the permit as amended; the lone recorded no vote was Israel Rivera.

Councilors who supported the motion said the permit had been vetted by the planning board and that the amendment provided clarity for enforcement; the council noted the petitioner retains the right to return and request changes to the permit in the future.

Ending: Planning and building staff will incorporate the new hours condition into the permit documents and enforce the permit through routine inspections and site‑plan review processes.