Plant City may soon be “eating more chicken” as residents’ dreams of a hometown Chick-fil-A appear to be on their way to fruition.
While a number of obstacles, including the average income of local residents, have been roadblocks in the past, the recent growth throughout the city has allowed developers to finally clear the hurdles.
“Chick-fil-A applied for a DRC for the Development Review Committee,” Planning & Zoning Manager Julie Ham said.
The DRC application is the first step in a long process of review, analysis, detailed site plans and more to bring those lovable cows to the city that has been anxiously waiting for their arrival for decades. SCS Site Development submitted the application for review with the DRC.
The DRC is meeting today to discuss the application. During the committee meeting, a group of staff and outside agencies will look at what Chick-fil-A is proposing and make comments on things like the number of spaces they have without an island or the way the curb is cut.
“It’s basically them all going around and looking at a preliminary plan prior to them submitting site plans for the Planning & Zoning to distribute to the city staff to review,” Ham said.
Once the application is combed through by the committee they will discuss issues like fees for the site plan review, impact fees and other upcoming steps with the applicant so everyone is on the same page going forward. From there a site plan will be submitted and the ball can officially begin rolling to have the establishment churning out Chick-n-Minis and strawberry milkshakes to the masses.
The local support for the chain is more than transparent. When a pop-up Chick-fil-A came to town the lines were down the block with some even dressing up in black and white spotted outfits for the grand opening.
The proposed plan will have the large restaurant built at 1102 Goldfinch Drive. The Sonny’s BBQ that currently calls that lot home is planned to be torn down and replaced with the chicken-loving establishment. The preliminary concept plan shows a 4,857 square foot facility with 112 indoor seats and 28 outdoor seats.
“This is just the preliminary, this is their first step,” Ham said. “They’re doing more like their due diligence. Here’s where they’re showing they’re going to design the property, but at any time they can come in and say ‘Ok well we’ve decided that’s not going to work for us.’ We would love for them to come here. It’s a preliminary step before they submit for site plan review.”
