Planning commission continues decision on Calle Real Chick‑fil‑A after traffic and air‑quality concerns

The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission voted 3–2 on March 25 to continue a decision on a proposed Chick‑fil‑A restaurant and dual‑lane drive‑through at 4765 Calle Real to its May 27 hearing so the applicant can submit additional evidence about air‑quality impacts and compliance with a county drive‑through development standard.

Staff planner Willow Brown summarized the application as a request for a land‑use permit and conditional use permit for demolition of an existing restaurant and construction of a 2,647‑square‑foot quick‑service restaurant on a 1.42‑acre retail parcel in the Eastern Goleta Valley Community Plan area. Brown told commissioners the project was screened out of additional CEQA analysis under CEQA Guidelines §15183 because it is a commercial use on a commercially zoned site that was anticipated by the community plan EIR; she also said the traffic and air‑quality technical memoranda were peer‑reviewed and accepted by county reviewers and the Air Pollution Control District. Brown said the traffic analysis estimated about 971 vehicle trips per day for the site and that the project provides 52 on‑site parking spaces compared with 25 required.

Commissioners and transportation staff focused their questions on on‑street queuing, enforcement, and how the county measures VMT and screening thresholds. County transportation staff Will Robertson told the commission that “the official enforcement arm would be the highway patrol” for vehicles that violate the Vehicle Code, and that transportation staff supported the proposed striping changes to add a dedicated right‑turn pocket and move the bike lane away from the curb to improve cyclist visibility.

Commissioner Park pressed staff and the applicant on Santa Barbara County’s LUDC development standard requiring that “the drive‑through facility shall have no greater adverse impact upon air quality than the same use without the drive‑through facility.” Park said the standard must be explicitly addressed in findings and that the public record initially lacked the applicant’s traffic and air‑quality memoranda until commissioners requested they be placed into the record.

The applicant team, represented by Beth Collins of Brownstein, argued the site and design minimize impacts. Collins said the applicant analyzed nine comparable Chick‑fil‑A stores to size the queue and operations and described their “max queue” as 31 cars with onsite capacity for 32, and said the site has a dual‑lane drive‑through plus surplus parking so staff could direct customers to park if queues build. Collins told the commission the off‑site striping and protected bike‑lane changes are intended to reduce conflicts and that an odor abatement plan and air‑quality memorandum were reviewed by the Air Pollution Control District. The applicant’s operator, Carlos Arias, said the design and operational tools (dual lanes, app ordering and staff direction) would reduce on‑street spillover.

Neighbors and community commenters urged caution. In‑person speakers documented recurring queuing problems near existing drive‑throughs and asked for independent review; Lisa Kenyon told the commission she had compiled hundreds of photographs and letters about queueing at nearby businesses and asked the commission not to “compound the problem.” Online commenter Mary O'Gorman urged the commission to reassess CEQA screening and argued that the Eastern Goleta Valley plan did not contemplate several drive‑throughs clustered in the corridor.

Applicant rebuttal restated that the CEQA screening relies on building square footage (2,600 sq ft) rather than total lot size, that the traffic report considered cumulative housing projects, and that operational measures and off‑site improvements will prevent queues from spilling into Calle Real.

After deliberating, Commissioner Park moved — and Commissioner Ford seconded — to continue the item to May 27 to allow submission of additional evidence specifically addressing whether the drive‑through would have no greater adverse air‑quality impact than the same use without a drive‑through. The roll‑call vote was Commissioner Cooney — aye; Commissioner Ford — aye; Commissioner Park — aye; Commissioner Martinez — nay; Chair Reed — no. The motion passed 3–2 and the item was continued to May 27.