TERRE HAUTE —
In an unanimous vote Monday, the Vigo County Board of Commissioners approved rezoning that would allow construction of a Chick-fil-A along U.S. 41 South, with the restaurant expected to open next year.
The undeveloped site is located on the northeast corner of the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds, about 500 feet south of Johnson Drive, just south of a Walgreens pharmacy on the west side of U.S. 41.
The address will be 3675 S. U.S. 41.
Gary R. Rouse, principal of GBC Design Inc., which is designing the restaurant’s outlay on 1.98 acres, said there will be no new road cut off of U.S. 41.
Instead, the company will use a current road access that goes to a nearby drag strip on the fairgrounds property.
“We will have an entrance [into the restaurant] about 90 feet into the property and there will also be another exit from an entrance to the drag strip. There are no new curb cuts” on U.S. 41, Rouse said.
Vigo County Planning Department executive director Jeremy Weir said should any future development occur where the fairgrounds are located, streets may be required and road cuts may be needed; however, such requirements do not impact the Chick-fil-A site.
The Vigo County Area Plan Commission last week gave a favorable recommendation for the rezoning.
Chick-fil-A has been under national media coverage since the company’s president Dan Cathy’s remarks last month concerning a stance against gay marriage. Mayors of San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C., lashed out against the chain. That spurred former presidential candidate and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee to organize a Chick-fil-A appreciation day last week. Gay rights activists countered with a Kiss-in protest.
Since those events, the company’s strategy has been to remain quiet, said David E. Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision LLC, an Atlanta, Ga.-based public relations firm.
“It is a good strategy … especially for a business under such intense political and media scrutiny,” Johnson said, adding the company made an initial statement, but no more.
“Every time you open your mouth, that allows the media and advocates of both sides to interpret what you are saying, especially with a 24/7 news cycle,” Johnson said, adding most people will forget the controversy, especially in the wake of the Olympics and the presidential election.
Vigo County officials say the issue was not of concern as they considered a rezoning for the business.
Commissioner President Mike Ciolli said he received just one phone call about the restaurant, but the caller simply complained the county already has too many fast-food restaurants.
“We did not receive any direct complaints,” Ciolli said. “I voted on this strictly as a rezoning. It has been well publicized about the zoning change,” Ciolli said, adding no one voiced opposition at Monday’s rezoning meeting.
Commissioner Judith Anderson said she “did not consider any ideology about the company,” but simply considered a request for a rezoning for a restaurant.
“I have eaten some very good food at Chick-fil-A before this controversy and that has not changed my opinion of them,” Anderson said.
Weir said “governmental powers with zoning and sexual preference are two different issues.”
Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
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