It's been open for nearly 10 years, but people are so obsessed with chicken sandwiches lately that a Chick-fil-A restaurant on the west coast is close to drawing legal actions because of its popularity.
City officials in Santa Barbara are considering a proposition to declare the fast food restaurant a public nuisance over its "chronic adverse traffic impact."
The drive-through line at the city's only Chick-fil-A often stretches into the street, blocking traffic for as long as 90 minutes on weekdays and 155 minutes on weekends, according to CBS News.
A document being considered by the City Council indicates that "the city's traffic engineer, police chief and community development director have evaluated the situation and believe that the persistent traffic back-up onto State Street is a public nuisance and that the nuisance is caused by the operation of a drive-through at the Chick-fil-A restaurant."
Each time the drive-thru backs up into the street, it leaves only one lane of traffic open, according to the document. Queued vehicles often block the sidewalk, bike lanes and driveways to other businesses.
The city has received multiple complaints over the years regarding car crashes caused by the drive-thru backup, as well as pedestrian and bicyclist safety issues, according to the document.
Officials note that Chick-fil-A has tried various methods of reducing the drive-thru back-ups by reconfiguring its on-site queuing and stationing mobile order takers, but nothing has worked.
"It is unlawful to stop in the travel lane, and there are traffic control signs posted that advise motorists not to stop in the travel lane, but Chick-fil-A customers routinely ignore those signs," the document states.
Councilmember Kristen Sneddon suggested that Chick-fil-A may have to move to a different location if there is no other remedy for the traffic issues.
"Chick-fil-A has a good problem here. They are so successful, they have outgrown their site. It's possible they were oversized for that site, to begin with," Sneddon said at a council meeting, according to the Santa Barbara News-Press.
Mayor Randy Rowse added that they're intention isn't to punish the restaurant, but to find a solution to the traffic problem, the newspaper reported.
In response to the proposed designation, franchise owner Travis Collins says he's hiring someone to control traffic outside the restaurant, CBS News reported.
The City Council has scheduled a public hearing on the matter on June 7.
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