Atascadero council approves Home Depot Center plan allowing Chick‑fil‑A, car wash and retail pad with conditions

The Atascadero City Council voted unanimously to approve a specific‑plan amendment and related entitlements for the Home Depot Center that will allow a Chick‑fil‑A drive‑through restaurant, a car wash and a small retail shell on three vacant pads.

The council’s approval, taken after a long public hearing and a break so staff could draft new conditions, requires the drive‑through restaurant (Chick‑fil‑A) and retail pad permits to be issued before the car wash may receive its certificate of occupancy. Staff also added conditions requiring existing rear perimeter pole lights the applicant controls to be retrofitted with shields to meet current city lighting standards and limiting the car‑wash operating hours to 7 a.m.–7 p.m. City staff will evaluate operational noise at three and 12 months after opening and may require additional mitigation if complaints arise.

Why it matters: The project will finish buildout of the 27‑acre Home Depot Center and bring national and local tenants to a high‑visibility interchange near U.S. 101. Neighbors and council members raised concerns that the combination of a popular drive‑through and a car wash could generate long drive‑through queues, spillover traffic onto local streets, nighttime noise and light intrusion into adjacent yards. Council members pressed staff and the applicant on traffic modeling, queue capacity and measures to prevent congestion at the site’s primary driveway and local ramps.

What staff and applicants said: Planning staff told the council the applicant submitted a traffic study that modeled peak‑hour conditions and queueing needs; staff said the project would add about 29 vehicles per hour in the morning peak and about 48 vehicles per hour in the afternoon peak, and that the applicant had provided queuing capacity and a traffic‑control plan for grand‑opening periods. Planner Eric Gomez explained the entitlements being requested: a zoning amendment to allow car washes within the PD‑9 plan, a conditional use permit with exceptions (parking reduction, driveway spacing reduction, sign size exception for the car wash), and a lot‑line adjustment (ATL250042).

Representatives for the property owner and Chick‑fil‑A said they designed the drive‑through to handle two lanes of queuing, will staff openings to manage traffic and will coordinate with city public works and police. "We have two lanes that go all the way around," Chick‑fil‑A’s regional representative said, describing app‑based ordering and staff‑managed queueing practices intended to reduce roadway backups.

Neighbor concerns: Several residents who live about 160 feet below the rail corridor told the council the car wash would place noise‑generating equipment and vacuum stations near their bedrooms, and said several existing tall pole lights near the railroad already spill into backyards. A representative of a household with a six‑week‑old baby said, "We were awakened at 4:30 a.m. by a street sweeper" and urged the council to require shielding of lights, shorter operating hours, and follow‑up checks after opening.

Council response and final conditions: After deliberation the council directed staff to add conditions that (1) phase construction so Chick‑fil‑A and the retail pad move forward before the car wash, (2) require the applicant to retrofit existing perimeter lights it controls to meet city lighting standards, (3) limit car‑wash hours to 7 a.m.–7 p.m., and (4) direct staff to evaluate noise at three and 12 months with the authority to require further mitigation if the facility generates complaints. The council adopted the amended staff recommendation by roll call vote; members present voted yes and the motion passed unanimously.

What’s next: With council approval the ordinance language will be introduced for first reading and the applicant can proceed with building permits under the conditions of approval. The council and staff said they will monitor the site closely around the Chick‑fil‑A opening and during any grand‑opening period to enforce stacking and traffic‑control measures.

Key documents: staff report and resolution (lot line adjustment ATL250042), traffic and acoustic studies submitted with the CUP.