By Bruce England
At the September 16th, 2012 City Council meeting, Council considered two appeals (one of which I filed) of the zoning administrator's approval of a drive-through conditional use permit for Chick-fil-A at 1962 West El Camino, and the majority voted in favor of overturning the ZA's decision. We are very pleased with this outcome, of course, and we would like to thank Council members who voted with the majority. I'd also like to thank those who worked on the appeal I was responsible for. Their collective efforts were amazing, and I am very proud of all the energy and dedication they all put into the process.
To be clear, an underlying and long-term goal for many who worked on this appeal is for the City to update existing codes that relate to drive-through permitting. At this time, we have 26 such businesses in Mountain View, and we feel that this number is more than sufficient to serve the needs of our community.
Rather, in our view, and broadly speaking, more attention should be focused on moving away from providing convenience for motor vehicles, and toward improving walkability and bikeability infrastructure. Objectives and guidelines established in, for example, the Grand Boulevard Initiative, the City's 2030 General Plan, the pending Pedestrian Master Plan, and what we anticipate in the update of the Mountain View Bicycle Transportation Plan, including incorporation of Complete Streets elements, should compel the City, County, and related agencies to move in this direction, and our efforts will continue to be guided accordingly.
Additionally, concerns now being raised around traffic safety for Shoreline Boulevard, California Street, and Castro Street near Graham Middle School underscore that many in Mountain View urgently wish for the City to prioritize as much as possible what is needed to help achieve the goals we seek.
At the September 16th, 2012 City Council meeting, Council considered two appeals (one of which I filed) of the zoning administrator's approval of a drive-through conditional use permit for Chick-fil-A at 1962 West El Camino, and the majority voted in favor of overturning the ZA's decision. We are very pleased with this outcome, of course, and we would like to thank Council members who voted with the majority. I'd also like to thank those who worked on the appeal I was responsible for. Their collective efforts were amazing, and I am very proud of all the energy and dedication they all put into the process.
To be clear, an underlying and long-term goal for many who worked on this appeal is for the City to update existing codes that relate to drive-through permitting. At this time, we have 26 such businesses in Mountain View, and we feel that this number is more than sufficient to serve the needs of our community.
Rather, in our view, and broadly speaking, more attention should be focused on moving away from providing convenience for motor vehicles, and toward improving walkability and bikeability infrastructure. Objectives and guidelines established in, for example, the Grand Boulevard Initiative, the City's 2030 General Plan, the pending Pedestrian Master Plan, and what we anticipate in the update of the Mountain View Bicycle Transportation Plan, including incorporation of Complete Streets elements, should compel the City, County, and related agencies to move in this direction, and our efforts will continue to be guided accordingly.
Additionally, concerns now being raised around traffic safety for Shoreline Boulevard, California Street, and Castro Street near Graham Middle School underscore that many in Mountain View urgently wish for the City to prioritize as much as possible what is needed to help achieve the goals we seek.
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