Santa Barbara officials are considering whether a Chick-fil-A restaurant should be declared a “public nuisance” after community members complained to the City Council about traffic issues.
Residents in the California city are concerned about cars that do not fit in the restaurant’s parking lot, as drive-thru lines often extend into the street and block traffic, CBS News reported.
The famous fried chicken chain opened its Santa Barbara location in 2013. The steady flow of customers forces city buses and emergency vehicles to take different routes, according to city officials.
Several signs advise drivers not to stop in the travel lane, but they are often ignored.
According to a City Council’s agenda report, Chick-fil-A submitted a development application in January 2021 to expand its drive-thru from one lane to two. Officials reviewed the proposal and said widening the area would not solve the problem.
The long lines frequently block the sidewalk and bike lanes and affect access to adjacent businesses, the report said.
The drive-thru blocks traffic for up to 90 minutes on weekdays and nearly two hours on Saturdays.
“This is not about the goodness of the company or the owners and certainly not about the goodness of the employees,” City Council member Kristen Sneddon told the Santa Barbara News-Press earlier this month. “Chick-fil-A has a good problem here. They are so successful that they have outgrown their site. It’s possible they were oversized for that site, to begin with.”
Members unanimously approved moving forward with a public nuisance designation at the City Council meeting.
The restaurant asked the council to give them more time to find a solution.
The council will hold a public hearing on June 7.
Chick-fil-A was named the nation’s busiest drive-thru by the restaurant trade publication QSR.
Franchise owner Travis Collins told CBS News he plans to hire additional staff and third-party traffic control to help fix the issue.
• Peter Santo can be reached at psanto@washingtontimes.com.
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