THEY’VE SERVED BILLIONS—McDonald’s is seeking a special permit from the city to build a new franchise near the Farmers Insurance building on Galena Avenue. Some neighbors are opposed. McDonald’s wants to open its fifth Simi Valley franchise at the northwest corner of Cochran Street and Galena Avenue in the Farmers Insurance parking lot.

But nearby residents aren’t lovin’ it.

At a recent meeting of Neighborhood Council No. 3, residents and the executive board expressed opposition to the proposal, and the majority voted to recommend that the planning commission deny the request for a conditional use permit.

On the table is a proposal to build a 4,220-square-foot McDonald’s restaurant with a twolane drivethrough and outdoor seating area at 2423 Galena Ave. A vacant insurance claims building would be demolished and the site would be regraded.

With four McDonald’s already in Simi Valley, some question the need for a fifth.

But the bigger concern for nearby residents is the potential increase in traffic. Megan Minetti, who’s lived in the Sycamore Terrace condominium complex directly across from the project site for four years, said it’s already difficult to safely exit the complex and make a left onto Galena.

“Between the Farmers Insurance traffic as well as the post office traffic, it’s hard enough to turn off the side street Darby onto Galena,” said Minetti, who’s been in a car accident at that location.

According to a traffic study, the proposed project is anticipated to generate about 1,620 trips per day, with 206 trips per hour during the morning peak time and 113 trips per hour during the evening peak time.

Minetti is also worried about the devaluation of her property due to a fastfood restaurant sitting right outside her living room and bedroom windows.

“We asked the McDonald’s rep at the meeting, ‘Would you buy a condo that looked out on a McDonald’s? Would you want to smell it?’” she said.

In an effort to appease residents, McDonald’s is no longer asking to operate a 24-hour drive through, but Minetti said that’s little comfort since the restaurant will still be open late.

The proposed hours of operation are 6 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday through Saturday.

At the Sept. 10 neighborhood council meeting, residents said they were also concerned about noise from the patio and drivethrough speaker, the glare of headlights coming in their windows and the fact that the McDonald’s would attract a young crowd and possibly become a late-night hangout for teens.

Simi resident Sam Malhotra, the owner of the Togo’s/Baskin Robbins store at the corner of Sycamore Drive and Cochran Street, said the addition of another fast food restaurant would negatively impact other eateries in the area.

He said there are already 25 restaurants on Cochran between Sycamore and Galena.

“To add another store right there in the parking lot at Farmers Insurance is just not fair to all of us who are trying to survive right now,” he said. “It’s already so congested with so many restaurants all vying for that same lunch crowd.”

He said it’s the business from the Farmers employees along with workers from the medical offices on Sycamore that have helped sustain his restaurant during the recession. Though he is usually pro business, right now Malhotra doesn’t want the added competition.

“You just hate to see in this economy more restaurants keep opening when the ones already open are having such a difficult time,” he said.

A date for the commission meeting has not yet been set, but city staff said the soonest the public hearing would occur is December.

A representative from McDonald’s did not return Acorn phone calls by press time.