Vacaville planners OK Sonic

Vacaville planners OK Sonic
By Melissa Murphy
Posted: 09/16/2009

Sonic Drive-In received a green light from Planning Commissioners on Tuesday to cruise into Vacaville.

Valley Iron, a steel distribution company, also received favorable approval from the group.

Known for its flavored fountain drinks and burgers, Sonic, the car-hop style restaurant, will locate at 151 Bella Vista Road and will most likely open in January.

"We're really excited to be in the city of Vacaville," said Scot Cochran, a Sonic representative. The Sonic will occupy a pre-existing building that had dine-in accommodations -- a feature not common to Sonic's type of restaurant. "It will add another element of service."

Planning Commissioners voted 5 to 0 in favor of the establishment and recommend that the City Council vote in favor of the restaurant to occupy a new and already existing 2,604-square-foot building, which also has a drive-through lane.

Commissioner Frank Crim did not attend the meeting.

With the new business, a new driveway will be installed that will line up with the existing traffic lights at the intersection of Davis Street and Hume Way.

Commissioners also recommended that the council go along with granting an exception to the city's traffic impact standards. The exception would allow an interim increase in traffic congestion prior to construction of the city's Davis Street widening project, which is planned to be completed before the end of 2010.

Sonic also plans to use several spaces from the adjoining Park-and-Ride lot. In return, the company will foot the bill for replacement spaces in the adjacent city-owned parcel on Davis Street, which will be added to the city's parking facility.

City staff said not only would the development help pay for the driveway, but that tax revenue generated by the sales at Sonic also is a plus.

There is some concern about how pedestrian traffic will flow from Buckingham Charter School to Sonic, which will sit diagonally across the busy intersection of Davis Street and Bella Vista Road.

City staff confirmed that they are still looking into pedestrian safety and traffic flow as part of the widening project.

Meanwhile, Valley Iron was also given approval with a 5 to 0 vote to occupy an empty building in Vacaville.

Valley Iron will occupy the old Leggett and Platt warehouse building at 797 Elmira Road. The warehouse is 83,869 square feet and the attached office space is 2,340 square feet.

Business owners described Valley Iron as a grocery store of steel products where no manufacturing will take place.

The light industrial and family-owned business is looking to expand its Fresno-based business in Northern California and chose Vacaville because of its proximity to Interstate 80.