The Danvers Select Board voted 5-0 on Thursday, October 22 to grant a common victualler license to the new Chick-fil-A at 50 Independence Way, clearing the restaurant to open on November 12, and voted 5-0 to send five proposed zoning articles to the Planning Board for public hearings that begin November 10. The meeting, held in the Daniel J. Toomey Hearing Room with Chair Dutrochet Djoko and members Michael Bean, Daniel Bennett, Maureen Bernard and Gardner Trask III present, ran 54 minutes and adjourned at 7:54 p.m. This account is drawn from the board’s approved minutes.
Chick-fil-A: 150 jobs, closed Sundays, no liquor
Jordan Diamond, the local owner and operator doing business as Blue Diamond Hospitality Inc., appeared for the public hearing on the license. He described the restaurant as the first full-scale Chick-fil-A in the area, with a playground, a dining room, patio seating and a large drive-through built to handle what he expects to be strong demand. The building was fully rebuilt on the former Friendly Toast site. It will employ about 150 people in a mix of full-time and part-time positions.
Diamond told the board the company has committed $25,000 to Feeding America and takes part in the Shared Table program, which sends surplus food to local pantries including Haven for Hunger. Answering questions from the public, he said the size of the building reflects the staffing and kitchen capacity needed to keep service moving. The restaurant will have no liquor license and will be closed on Sundays. Trask moved to close the hearing, Bennett seconded, and the board voted 5-0; the same pair moved and seconded the license itself, which also passed 5-0.
Later in the meeting Bernard singled out the Feeding America donation for praise and encouraged similar support for causes such as animal shelters.
Five zoning articles head to the Planning Board
Aaron Henry, the town’s director of land use and community services, asked the board for a procedural vote to refer a slate of potential zoning changes to the Planning Board. The ideas grew out of the Land Use Summit held in June and have been narrowed to about five, a list he said may be refined further based on recent feedback. The early referral, he said, is meant to give the proposals more public visibility and draw community input before the Planning Board’s formal hearings open on November 10. The Select Board will still get its usual chances to weigh in when the special town meeting warrant is set.
Henry said staff have already been meeting with precinct town meeting members, the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Planning Board to prepare, and he encouraged individual board members to pass comments to staff during the Planning Board process. The Planning Board will take the lead on drafting and refining the language. Board members then aired general views on dwelling conversions, accessory dwelling units, short-term rentals, signage and lighting, while stating that no final decisions were being made. On a motion by Trask seconded by Bernard, the board voted 5-0 to refer the five articles as a slate.
Public comment: the old dump, Cemetery Road and an Airbnb
Three residents spoke during new public business. Mark Zuberek of Glendale Drive asked for a clear financial accounting of the long-running backfill project at the former Danvers dump, including costs, payments and revenue the town has kept. Residents were promised a solar farm on the site, he said, and no plans have materialized. With the window for federal solar incentives closing, he urged the board to say what has been accomplished and what comes next.
Dave McKenna, a Precinct 8 town meeting member who lives on Andover Street, asked the board to fix long-standing errors in an earlier town meeting vote on Cemetery Road. The faulty deed, he said, has kept the road from becoming a public way and has already produced one lawsuit, with the potential for another. He asked the board to put a warrant article on the upcoming special town meeting to rescind the vote and redo it properly, offered to help, and said delay would only prolong the problem.
Eileen Harris, a Precinct 7 town meeting member who lives on Bayberry Drive, told the board she has run an Airbnb in her home for three years without a problem after being told the town had no regulations, and that she worries new restrictions could put at risk a business that helps her cover retirement expenses. She offered to meet with officials to explain how the platform works, said Airbnb enforces strict rules, and said her rental has never drawn a complaint from a neighbor. Short-term rentals are among the subjects on the zoning slate the board referred later that evening.
Election preparations
Town Clerk Catherine Ellsworth reported on preparations for the November 3 state election. Early voting was under way through October 30, with an extra Saturday session on October 24, and thousands of vote-by-mail ballots had already gone out and come back. Because the ballot carried nine questions across two pages, she urged voters to read the state’s Red Book guide ahead of time and to use the voter checklist available on the town website and at information tables during early voting and on Election Day. She explained how to correct a mistake on a ballot and said the tabulators would process ballots correctly as long as marking rules were followed. Board members praised the clerk, her staff and the poll workers for the smooth operation and the positive feedback from early voters.
Town manager’s report and consent calendar
Rodney Conley delivered the town manager’s report in the manager’s absence. Danvers marked Breast Cancer Awareness Month with Danvers Goes Pink on Tuesday, October 27, inviting town employees and residents to wear pink. The Town Hall Trick-or-Treat returned on Thursday, October 29 from 5 to 6:30 p.m., an indoor family event with departments handing out treats, and all Town Hall offices were decorated for Halloween, with a reminder that political-themed costumes were not allowed because early voting was still under way in the building.
On a motion by Trask seconded by Bennett, the board voted 5-0 to approve the consent calendar, which contained one item: a block party permit for the Danvers Holiday Houses at 15 to 23 Fowler Street on Sunday, December 13 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., with a rain date of December 12 as listed in the minutes. The board also approved the minutes of its October 6 meeting, 5-0, on a motion by Trask seconded by Bennett.
Member reports
Bernard said she attended a celebration of life for Ralph Ardiff, a longtime Danvers attorney she described as a well-known and respected member of the community, and offered condolences to his family. She asked residents to drive carefully on Halloween, watching their speed and looking out for children after dark, and reminded them about coat, mitten and hat drives and the local food pantry.
Bennett reported that John, the owner of Hong Kong Cafe, provided a meal for the Danvers High football team, by his account a lot of chop suey, and encouraged residents to stop in and thank the staff. The football team, he noted, was 5-0. He closed the meeting by asking residents to thank veterans when they see them.
Bean marked the anniversary of the loss of Colleen Ritzer, remembering her as a beloved young member of the community whose life was tragically lost, and encouraged residents to honor her memory with a moment of reflection or prayer.
Trask said he had received letters thanking the board for how it handled the Park Street parking changes, including the decision to delay action so neighbors could weigh in and the eventual No Parking restriction from High Street to Berry Street. Lt. Sullivan has laid out the next steps and shared updates with interested residents. Trask also reported on the Accessibility Commission’s Human Library event, where residents could check out people who shared their life experiences, and said a future session is being planned.
Djoko said the Human Library was a first for Danvers and that he took part as a book, holding long conversations with several attendees. He called the event an open, judgment-free space for meaningful questions about personal experience, encouraged others to join the next one as books or readers, and thanked the Accessibility Commission. He also attended a community Celebracion at the library, complimenting the food and crediting HRIC for hosting it.
The board’s next meeting was November 5. Its remaining 2026 meetings are scheduled for Tuesday, November 17 and Tuesdays, December 1 and 15, at 6:30 p.m. in the Toomey Hearing Room.
