Not time to chicken out

The article that was printed in the Leader on Saturday, Sept. 17,

“Restaurant vote reviewed,” discussed the controversial decision of

Planning Board Vice Chairman Dan Humfreville to vote on the

California Chicken Cafe without disclosing to the public that his

brother has some involvement in two of the stores in the popular

chain.

We should be concerned about our city officials’ ethical behavior

in matters like this, as it reflects on the community as a whole.

Humfreville did speak to the city attorney, and even though he may

not have a financial interest, we believe he still should have at

least recused himself from the discussion and from the vote. As was

mentioned in the article, this matter will be dealt with separately,

and the restaurant project will be considered on its own merit.

We can all agree that this restaurant would be a good addition to

Burbank, as it offers healthy food at a reasonable price. The

location, however, is another topic entirely. This will be a

4700-square-foot restaurant with approximately 142 seats (twice the

size of any of the other stores). It lacks adequate parking, and was

not recommended by the City Planning Department based on their own

information about excessive trip generations caused by the quick

turnover nature of California Chicken Cafe, added congestion in the

area, and its proximity to an residential neighborhood.

Just to illustrate the traffic situation, a published study lists

a furniture store to produce 28 trips per day, a typical specialty

retail store to generate approximately 209 trips, while a fast food

restaurant without a drive-thru has more than 3,350 trip generations.

Those of us who live in the immediate area are concerned about the

negative impact that this type of project will have on our streets,

alleys and quality of life in general. The Magnolia Park Action Plan

calls for more restaurants in the area, but one-of-a-kind, white

tablecloth, non-fast food establishments are preferred. The applicant

actually said in his presentation that more than half of his business

is take out. The 400 responders to the Magnolia Park survey asked for

more retro retail shops, a deli, an ice cream shop and other quaint,

unique shops.

In conclusion, we would not like to see this restaurant located in

any adjacent R-1 area in Burbank because it is just not compatible.

One only has to visit the Santa Monica or Westwood stores to see

how they have affected those neighborhoods. Let’s find a new place in

Burbank for California Chicken Cafe that makes sense -- how about the

old Koo Ka Roo location on San Fernando Road?

* PENNY AND TONY CHURCH are Burbank residents.