Campbell City Council to vote on proposed Chick-fil-A; residents concerned about location

CAMPBELL, Calif. (KGO) -- City councilmembers in the South Bay city of Campbell are expected to vote Tuesday evening on whether to allow Chick-fil-A to set up shop.

However, some neighbors are concerned about the proposal and say the popular fast-food chain doesn't belong there.

"Chick-fil-A is not an average operator, so I think they have to be treated with a different view," said Campbell resident Dave Pogue, who lives in the neighborhood behind the proposed site on Bascom Avenue at Arroyo Seco Drive.

Nearly 1,000 residents have already signed a petition urging the council to reject the project.

"We think the site is too small," added Pogue. "We think access to the site is too difficult. One of the concerns that we have is that is going to have only a single ingress and egress point."

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Neighborhood access from Bascom Avenue is limited because of the medians in place on the commercial corridor. For example, for drivers coming from the Pruneyard, one of the few ways to get onto Arroyo Seco Drive is by making a U-turn in front of the Denny's, or by driving further down to a stoplight to make a turnaround there. Neighbors say it's a recipe for disaster when accounting for the potential back-up from Chick-fil-A.

"There's so many other options that I think would just be a better fit, and not just cause the traffic problems that I think a Chick-fil-A would cause," said Campbell resident Mary Broxon.

Despite the concerns, some say the restaurant could help boost the Bascom Avenue commercial corridor, which has a number of empty storefronts.

"It's convenient, that's the whole point of fast food," said Campbell resident Max Fallen. "Why not have something, especially for us, close to where we work? We get to walk right over."

Councilmembers hope to have a civil and constructive discussion with the public.

"From a city standpoint, what's our vision for that corridor and what do we want to see in our city?" asked current Campbell city councilmember and former mayor Paul Resnikoff. "That does impact our tax base, and our tax base is what allows us to provide services. So, we as a city, have to look at that in the bigger picture."

Last fall, the city voted to reject a proposed In-N-Out on Hamilton Avenue at the site of the old Elephant Bar restaurant.