Auburn planning board approves Chick‑fil‑A site plan with sidewalk review condition

The Auburn Main Planning Board on July 8 approved a site plan and special‑exception request to build a Chick‑fil‑A restaurant at 65 Mount Auburn Ave, but attached a condition requiring the applicant to coordinate with the city engineer on final pedestrian connectivity before a building permit is issued.

The board approved the proposal after discussing vehicle access, parking and multiple options for pedestrian access to the shopping plaza. The applicant is proposing a roughly 5,100–5,200 square‑foot Chick‑fil‑A with a dual‑lane drive‑through, two covered drive‑through canopies, about 90 interior seats and outdoor patio seating, plus a trash enclosure and site lighting.

Why it matters: the site sits at the rear of the Turner Street Center Plaza, adjacent to Hobby Lobby and Mattress Firm, near a rotary on Turner Street. Staff, the applicant and the board debated whether to require a new sidewalk connection to Turner Street (which would involve steep grade changes and crosswalks near the rotary) or to require a shorter connection to the existing Hobby Lobby walkway inside the plaza. The board’s final condition asks the applicant to work with the city engineer to finalize a Turner Street connection if feasible, and to provide a sidewalk connection to the Hobby Lobby walkway.

Applicant presentation and site details Joey Fonseca, project manager with Bowler, summarized the proposal, saying the development would use a roughly 40,000 square‑foot pad on a 3.9‑acre parcel. Fonseca said the project would provide about 25 parking spaces within the Chick‑fil‑A pad itself and rely on shared parking across the plaza; utilities are currently stubbed to the site and stormwater already flows to an existing basin near Turner Street. Fonseca said, “we're proposing a 5,200…