The Christian-owned fast food chain that earned detractors over the years has been declared a "public nuisance" by a city in California.
A Chick-fil-A branch in Santa Barbara, California is getting a lot of business and a lot of complaints. The widely successful fast food chain, which is known for its heavy food traffic, busy drive-thrus and deliciously affordable offerings is now getting complaints from the citizens of Santa Barbara, California for being a "public nuisance."
According to the Christian Headlines, the Chick-fil-A located on 3707 State Street has been operating since 2013 but has now received several complaints from residents due to the number of people lining up on the drive-thru who are spilling onto the road. According to a March 1 agenda report of the city council, a Burger King was formerly located in the same site but did not cause this much traffic or problems. Now, the city said it wanted to help Chick-fil-A find a new location.
The News-Press newspaper reported that the city council on March 1 unanimously voted to move toward a potential public nuisance designation. Council member Kristen Sneddon assured, "This is not about the goodness of the company or the goodness of the owners and certainly not about the goodness of the employees."
"Chick-fil-A has a good problem here. They are so successful they have outgrown their site," Sneddon explained. "It's possible they were oversized for that site, to begin with."
The report from city officials dated March 1 said that traffic from the Chick-fil-A drive-thru blocks the right lane on State Street, which leaves only one of two lanes open. Traffic also blocks the sidewalk and bike lanes. Derrick Bailey, a transportation engineer for the city explained, "State Street is one of the city's most important streets for moving people and goods. It was never intended to operate with significant blockage."
Mayor Randy Rowse remarked further, ""It is important to understand we're trying to cure, not trying to punish."
Chick-fil-A responded to the complaints through a representative that said they will address the traffic issues by adding another drive-thru lane, rearranging parking spaces, and adding "a forced right turn exit out of the restaurant."
"On behalf of myself, Chick-fil-A and the many team members, we sincerely regret that this traffic situation has come to this point and heartily wish to work in good faith with the city to resolve this matter once and for all," Travis Collins, who owns the fast food chain, explained. "We believe we do have solutions, several of them."
Collins told Fox News Digital that the company wishes to be a "good neighbor" to the citizens of Santa Barbara, California and promised to "[work] diligently with the city" to "continue mitigating traffic concerns."
But for residents of Santa Barbara, California, traffic and long lines have long been a problem and the issues are only now just getting national attention. Resident Rick Closson said that complaints were previously "taken half-seriously." Now that the city council has taken notice however, he claims that Chick-fil-A is finally mobilizing and asking for "more time" to solve the traffic problem.
