Mountain View residents oppose Chik-Fil-A moving in

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (KGO) -- A popular fast food chain is not getting the welcome mat in the South Bay. Chik-Fil-A is trying to open a new store in Mountain View on El Camino Real and it already has the approval from the planning department, but now, some people want that decision reversed.

David Speakman is a Mountain View resident who doesn't want a Chik-Fil-A drive through moving into town.

"They bring smog, pollution, trash, we're really bicycle-friendly here and drive-through people just tend to be eating and drive right into the road and we've had bicyclists hit," said Speakman.

There is also a perception that Chik-Fil-A's president is against gay rights and Speakman says the community doesn't want that type of business in their backyard.

The restaurant was approved by the zoning administrator last week, but an appeal can be made to put the issue before the city council.

"We want our democratic leaders to actually have a say because these are the people who we elected to speak for us. But they don't get a say unless we apply by appealing and the appeal process costs $1,000," said Speakman.

To raise that money, he set up a donation website for supporters who want to help the effort. But Mayor Mike Kasperzak, Jr. says politics and gay rights, don't weigh into this decision.

"The city council is going to act as judges and it's not appropriate for any of us to make a decision because we have to give the appellant and the appellee their due process and not pre-judge the issue," said Kasperzak. So if enough money is raised for an appeal, the mayor says it comes down to this. "The decision before the city council will be does the decision of the zoning administrator comply with the zoning ordinance or not. From a purely technical perspective, that probably should be the issue."

The zoning approval went through last Wednesday and they have 10 days to make an appeal, which means that these folks only have a couple more days to reach their goal of $1,000, but they are just shy of a couple hundred dollars at this point.

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