Poll: Should Tolland Allow Drive-Throughs for Pharmacies?

The value of drive-through pharmacies in Tolland will be open to debate on April 9 as the Planning & Zoning Commission holds a public hearing on proposed regulation changes that would allow the drive-throughs in the Gateway Design District.

Town Planning & Community Development Director Linda Famer said that the debate on drive-throughs began in Tolland in the late 1980s when a McDonald's applied to open a Tolland branch approximately where Rockville Bank is currently located.

Since food service drive-throughs usually have high intensity use and could be difficult to manage, the P&ZC denied the application, Farmer said, a decision that was challenged in court. There were also concerns that the site's septic system could pollute nearby marshes, she said.

By the 1990s, the P&ZC had prohibited drive-through windows, according to Farmer.

Currently, the town does allow drive-through windows for banks, and the public hearing on April 9 could result in the same allowance for pharmacies in the Gateway Design District, which encompasses the area south of I-84 on Route 195 to Rhodes Road and Goose Lane.

"I think there's support for these. The pharmacies only give out prescriptions from the windows," Farmer said. The P&ZC has already allowed pharmacy drive-throughs in the Tolland Village Area, she said.

Farmer explained that the elderly and those with young children could benefit from having a drive-through window. She also cited the 2007 Citizen Survey, in which approximately 50 percent of residents supported drive-throughs in Tolland.

"There is some frustration," Farmer said of residents who have expressed the desire to have a pharmacy in town. Farmer said that the town used to have two pharmacies: Tolland Pharmacy and Nangle's Pharmacy, both of which have closed.

As of right now, Farmer said P&ZC will discuss food service drive-throughs at a later date.