McDonald’s, which was initially scheduled to come before the township Zoning Hearing Board Thursday, has requested the hearing be continued until March. McDonald’s is seeking a variance for a restaurant it hopes to build in the Village at Newtown East shopping center.

The applicant’s attorney, Edward Murphy, requested the matter be continued because he feared a quorum would not be available Thursday due to "various recusals and vacations."

The Zoning Hearing Board meets March 1 at 7:30 p.m.

McDonald’s is seeking zoning relief to exceed the driveway aisle width requirement for a 3,911 square-foot restaurant with drive-through window. 

In December, the township Planning Commission recommended against the granting the variance.

The township’s ordinance requires all cart ways to be a minimum of 25 feet in width. McDonald’s is seeking to construct a drive-through window aisle that’s 18 feet.

Planning Commission members said they feared car staking around the drive-through lane will create circulation problems if the variance is granted. 

“It’s the wrong size site for the type of use and operation you’re proposing,” commission Chairman Allen Fidler told the applicant in December. “It just doesn’t fit and your request for zoning relief demonstrates that in my mind very clearly.”