Letter to the Editor: Opposition to Chick-fil-A on El Camino at Clark Avenue

Just wanted to inform your publication that residents of the Gemello (Mountain View) and Eastender (Los Altos) neighborhoods have rallied to be heard by the Mountain View City Council in support of the two appeals that have been filed against the zoning administrator's approval of the drive-through conditional use permit (CUP), a zoning exception recommended by the Mtn. View planning department.   

Residents of these neighborhoods seem to be overwhelmingly against a high-volume, drive-through, fast-food restaurant that will surely bring much traffic through their quiet neighborhood streets, including Clark, Distel, Casita and Jardin, as chicken-seeking motorists cut through to Clark Avenue from El Monte and as LAHS students hurry back to school at lunchtime via Distel Drive. 

The Chick-fil-A drive-through plans include the destruction of several trees. This alteration of the landscape, in addition to the increased traffic, litter, and fried-chicken odors, signal a diminished quality of life and lower home values for these households.

Images of long lines of cars at the recently opened San Jose Chick-fil-A have alarmed Mountain View and Los Altos residents, who understand that many of the  “60 cars per hour at peak times,” (projected by Chick-fil-A), will drive through local neighborhoods.

The magnitude of the disruption is clearly illustrated by the attached picture taken just a few days ago, at the San Jose Chick-fil-A. Can you see the end of the line of cars queued up to buy fried chicken?