Commissioners skeptical of Chick‑fil‑A proposal to add employee parking, cite traffic and safety on Wilkes Lane

Planning Commission work session — The Planning Commission reviewed a site plan modification request (SPM 1726-2025) from Chick‑fil‑A for the property at 4885 Main Street. The applicant sought to add 10 employee parking spaces and shave the curb to increase queuing length for vehicles exiting onto Wilkes Lane.

Staff summarized prior discussion from March 24 and reported that the proposed changes (adding 10 spaces and a curb shave) could worsen circulation at the site’s exit onto Wilkes Lane and potentially impede emergency-vehicle access. Staff also asked the applicant to show building setbacks, provide adequate bicycle parking, revise the landscape plan and explain why adjacent parking was not used for employees. Staff requested a parking study; based on multiple site visits staff said available vacant spaces were observed during peak hours and that staff would not recommend approval of the request as submitted.

Drew Stokes of Civil and Environmental Consultants, representing Chick‑fil‑A, said the proposed additional spaces were intended to reduce employees parking across Wilkes Lane at the Marshalls lot and to give employees a safer route to the workplace. Commissioners — including Mayor Fitterer, Commissioner Connolly and Commissioner Groeninger — raised recurring concerns about circulation, whether 10 spaces would materially help given peak drive‑through traffic, proximity to residential properties, and potential conflicts with dumpster and refuse pickup access. Several commissioners said the site configuration is tight and expressed doubt that the additional spaces would resolve queuing or safety issues; Commissioner Connolly said adding spaces could “further exacerbate” circulation problems. Mayor Fitterer and others also suggested considering a formal crosswalk or other measures but agreed a crosswalk alone might not solve the underlying circulation problems on Wilkes Lane.

Applicant representatives said they had originally requested 12 spaces but reduced the request to 10 after prior comments about proximity to the Wilkes Lane intersection. The applicant said some employees currently park at the Marshalls lot under an unwritten arrangement and hoped the additional spaces would reduce that practice. Staff noted an aerial that showed vacant on‑site parking during a recent lunch hour and reiterated that staff would not recommend the change without additional study and information.

No formal vote was taken at the work session; staff asked the applicant for the requested clarifications and a parking study before the commission would consider recommending approval.