With existing traffic troublesome but hopeful that proposed fixes will ease problems, the Santa Maria Planning Commission approved the city’s second Chick-fil-A restaurant for a site near the corner of Preisker Lane and North Broadway.

On Wednesday night, commissioners voted 4-1 to approve planned development and conditional use permits for the eatery at 2140 N. Preisker Lane near the corner of North Broadway. Commissioner Tom Lopez was the only opponent.

The applicant has proposed a 5,000-square-foot building with 53 parking spaces and drive-through lanes that accommodate 34 vehicles. The new restaurant at the Preisker Commercial Center, already home to Hampton Inn & Suites and Wendy’s, will sit on two empty commercial pads. 

Traffic already plagues people in the area as Preisker provides access to hundreds of homes along with a fire station and a large park. The city has proposed both short- and long-term improvements in the area, but commissioners wrestled with the decision.

Chair Tim Seifert said he saw “a lot pluses for this project.”

“It’s a difficult situation for us here and it’s not an easy decision, but I do think getting that turn lane … will help the residents,” Seifert said.

“I want to make sure that whatever we do is an improvement,” Commissioner Esau Blanco said.

Traffic impacts left Lopez conflicted, he said before voting against the project.

“I’m very much for development — have been, always — but this is really tough because that is really the only artery to that area,” Lopez said.

The Preisker Lane Chick-fil-A will accommodate 34 vehicles in the drive-through lane with a maximum of 31 noted at three other similar Chick-fil-A restaurants in the state. The drive-through entrance sits at the east side of the property, so planners don’t expect queuing to spill onto Preisker.

The new restaurant will have a two-lane drive-through operation, something the firm also will seek to add at the existing restaurant on Betteravia Road, planning staff said.

Among measures to ease traffic congestion problems, the city has proposed restriping Preisker Lane to include one northbound lane, two southbound left-turn lanes (onto the Highway 101 on-ramps), and one combined lane for right turns onto Broadway and straight for those continuing across Broadway on Preisker Lane. 

A multi-use path for bicycles and pedestrians will be installed on the west side of Preisker Lane so the current on-street bike lanes can be removed to accommodate the new lane.

Vehicles exiting Highway 101 heading south onto Broadway (Highway 135) currently queue at the Preisker intersection, with the line ending up on the freeway during peak commute hours. The right-turn pocket will be lengthened to allow more room for vehicles to merge after exiting Highway 101 on Broadway.

Principal city engineer Mark Mueller said the measures should improve some of the traffic troubles in the area. 

“I don’t think it’s going to solve all of our issues at this location,” he said.  

A bigger fix will come with an interchange improvement project funded and led by the city but with Caltrans approval. Design is underway and construction is expected to start after 2027, but that date’s dependent on funding and work likely won’t begin until a few years later.

The lane configuration change also will improve signal operations at the intersection because of the modifications, Mueller said.

“I do think this will improve queuing on Preisker Lane,” Mueller said, adding that the changes including a left-turn lane would mitigate concerns about people stopping on Preisker to access the businesses. 

A dedicated left-turn lane on Preisker for vehicles turning into the businesses will extend to Hidden Pines Way, he added.

“It’s a neighborhood improvement as well; it’s not just for Chick-fil-A,” Mueller said.

Resident Roberta Thompson said those in her household travel through the intersection approximately six times a day.

“The traffic at the southbound freeway off-ramp especially at certain times of the day is at best chaotic,” she said.

She also spoke about the dangers posed by drivers turning left into Preisker from the center’s driveways.

“We have heard your concerns, and part of that is the improvements off Preisker Lane that we believe will make much safer driving conditions as well as bicycle path and pedestrian path conditions as well,” said Charles Maxey, development consultant for Chick-fil-A.