Planning Commission approves Chick‑fil‑A site plan after extended discussion on drive‑through queueing

The Murfreesboro Planning Commission on Nov. 19 approved a site plan and design review for a proposed 5,100–5,183 square‑foot Chick‑fil‑A at the corner of Joby Jackson Parkway and South Church Street following detailed presentations and a prolonged Q&A about the restaurant's architecture and drive‑through queueing.

During the presentation, the applicant's team described the proposed layout: primary access will use existing internal entrances and easements, parking will be concentrated toward the rear of the lot and the building will include a dual‑lane drive‑through and bypass lane. Staff told commissioners that the design matches applicable Gateway District overlay requirements and that photometrics and dumpster enclosure materials had been updated and cleared.

Design consultant Alan Wiley of GBC Design described the queueing capacity, saying, "we will be able to stack between 38 and 40 cars" in the primary internal queue and that "possibly 50 cars" could be handled when including additional internal stacking areas. Brent Edmiston, representing the developer, and Donovan (site planner) explained the prototype's larger kitchen and dual lanes are intended to increase throughput compared with older stores.

Commissioners focused on two points: whether the building's elevation facing the internal parking lot met the ordinances' expectation that a primary entry face the arterial street, and whether drive‑through stacking could create backups that would spill onto adjacent public streets. Chair Halliburton and several commissioners said they preferred architecture that presented well to the street but acknowledged the lot layout locates primary parking to the rear; one commissioner said the proposed treatment did not appear to read as a primary entry once the elevation plans were shown.

On queueing and safety, commissioners asked how the proposed stacking compared to existing Chick‑fil‑A locations. Alan Wiley and Chick‑fil‑A's senior development lead (identified in the record as Brent Evanston) said this prototype provides faster throughput and roughly double the queue capacity of the Memorial location, and Wiley cautioned that severe queuing likely indicates an operational issue within the store rather than a site design failure.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to approve the site plan and elevations "subject to all staff comments," the motion was seconded, and the commission voted to approve the item.

The approval is limited to the site plan and design elevations as presented; staff conditions and any required recordation items remain to be satisfied before final permits are issued. The planning commission did not add additional off‑site traffic mitigation at the Nov. 19 meeting.