Latest Guides

Government

Chick-fil-A Delayed Again

Published on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 | 4:14 am
 

Against Mayor Bill Bogaard’s urgings, the Council voted 5-2 to revisit the approval by both a public hearing officer and the Board of Zoning Appeals to allow Chick-fil-A to build a second drive-through on Colorado Boulevard across from Pasadena City College.

The Council’s vote to “call-up” the discussion to the Council level will delay the project until at least May 5 when it could be heard as a public hearing at the Council meeting.

“My reaction to the matter starts with the desire that Pasadena be known better than it has been at times as a place that opens for business. This is a case that has been very thoroughly examined,” Bogaard said. “All of the concerns that you raised and I share with you about non conforming use expansion in general doesn’t necessarily apply in this case.”

This marks Councilmember Terry Tornek’s second appeal of this issue, claiming that the prior decision makers did not examine closely enough the specific plan on east Colorado Boulevard when considering this possible non-conforming building to city standards.

“I called this matter up not because I am being frivolous or against chicken,” Tornek said. “I don’t really care whether its Chick-fil-A or McDonalds or Jack in the Box, we went through an enormous process and spent a lot of time determining what should be a non conforming use in the East Colorado Boulevard plan, wasn’t even referenced or at least not fully discussed in the deliberations over this.”

However, Bogaard pointed out that as stated in the specific plan for East Colorado Boulevard, the provision states that no new drive-through facilities would be permitted and gives instructions on expanding existing facilities. Other specific plans explicitly forbid all drive-throughs.

“The city’s policy is to provide a stable and sound environment for the investment and business decision by reducing uncertainty and streamlining the land use. The process we are experiencing is anything but streamlined and uncertain. What kind of messages does this send to the future businesses in Pasadena?” Chick-fil-A Development Manager Jennifer Dobb said.

With one councilmember calling the same item to question, McAustin said it seemed to belabor the point.

“You can’t keep calling it up until you get an answer that you like. I don’t think this is the way to go about it,” Margaret McAustin said.

Developers have been trying to open a Chick-fil-A in Pasadena since 2007 and have encountered a series of delays.
“Chick-fil-a wants to be in your city really badly. Probably our last option to be part of this community is the Burger King site,” Brian Wright, senior real-estate representative for Chick-fil-A said earlier this year.

Listing at least six properties that were previously denied, Chick-fil-A representatives expressed frustration with the process.

“Everybody is telling us ‘we want your brand in the city.’ However, every time we make an approach or try to create an opportunity, were constantly getting pushback for one reason or another,” Wright said.

The Board of Zoning Appeals latest approval on March 19 seemed to pave the way for developers to begin converting a former Burger King at 1700 Colorado Blvd., into Pasadena’s first Chick-fil-A.

The Council, however, acted on Tornek’s request that the full City Council review the Board’s latest approval. The Council will review the decision with the nonconforming zoning ordinances in place as soon as May 5.

“Continuing to delay the approval sets back our project. We have spent over $100,000 to date and this is setting back the employment of 60 residents and 300 construction employees. The delay and economic impact is substantial,” Dobb said.

Floyd Folven was concerned about the reasons for delaying the possible jobs that would be provided in Pasadena.

“Why are you trying to keep out of Pasadena the largest seller of fried chicken in the United States replacing Col. Sanders. Perhaps you can explain why you have something against the people of Pasadena who you wish to deny access from Chick-fil-A meals,” Folven said.

Tornek did show that he understood the difficulty of the long process for Chick-fil-A. Yet Tornek says that the City Council should grapple with at this because the critical scrutiny of the non-conforming use at the hearing level was deficient.

“Frankly, we as a city let them down in not flagging this issue properly as a tough row to hoe. I’m not apologetic about challenging the outcome, but I am somewhat apologetic about the process that they have endured and the fact that they are feeling that the staff never said there was a problem,” Tornek said.

Get our daily Pasadena newspaper in your email box. Free.

Get all the latest Pasadena news, more than 10 fresh stories daily, 7 days a week at 7 a.m.

Make a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

 

 

buy ivermectin online
buy modafinil online
buy clomid online
buy ivermectin online