Goleta’s Design Review Board reviewed a Taco Bell restaurant proposal for the University Village Shopping Center last week and asked the developers to make the building more compatible with the neighborhood west of Camino Real Marketplace.
The restaurant, planned for the corner of Hollister Avenue and Pacific Oaks Road, would have indoor seating for 28 customers and outdoor seating for 18. The project would also add 11 new parking spaces, a drive-through lane, bicycle parking, bus stop improvements and a wall to block car headlights from the neighboring residences.
The proposal was taken up during the Design Review Board’s conceptual calendar, and developers will return Dec. 10 for further discussion.
Board chairman Scott Branch said the yellow and purple building needed to tie into the area better.
The board voted to continue the review in December and asked the applicant to come back with additional information. Commissioners want a side view of the drive-through queue with the three-foot wall meant to block headlights and consideration to use canopy trees instead of palm trees in the project’s landscaping.
Commissioners also asked the applicant — Engen Enterprises Inc. of Westlake Village — to consider changing the form and color of the building to make it fit in better with the mostly off-white shopping center and surrounding residential projects.
Only Goleta resident Barbara Massey spoke at public comment, saying that opposition to the addition of a drive-through lane at the McDonald’s in the Camino Real Marketplace proves locals don’t want more drive-through restaurants. The Planning Commission approved the McDonald’s project, but the Goodland Coalition filed an appeal with the City Council.
Massey said the design was ugly and described it as an “industrial-ghetto look.”
Even though adding a drive-through doesn’t fall under the purview of the Design Review Board, she said she wanted to bring it up early in the planning process.
“We don’t want a damn drive-through. Period,” Massey said.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
