(Cleveland)- The Cleveland City Council refused to take action earlier this week on a special events permit filed by Chick-fil-A in Cleveland for an event they wanted to hold on November 10th.
The event would be similar to one held on September 29th. That one, which was not permitted, created a massive traffic problem around the restaurant for several hours.
Cleveland Police Chief John Foster told the council during Monday’s regular meeting that he looked at the request, reviewed it, and refused to approve it.
Owner/Operator Chris Liberator told the council they have learned from the other event and have plans to deal with the traffic. The permit estimates 2,500 cars are expected to participate.
The Council agreed with Chief Foster that Liberator should obtain a Georgia DOT permit first before they could look favorable toward it.
Foster said, “this is a big deal” and there, would have to be five off-duty officers to handle the event along with Chick-fil-A personnel.
The event permit was filed on October 15 which is less than the 30 days required on the permit application, which was a concern for the council as well.
Foster said following the last big event there they received several complaints from neighboring businesses saying their business suffered because people could not get in their parking lots because of all the traffic going to Chick-fil-A.
Chief Foster said this type of event will impact traffic, public safety, and people who live on nearby streets.
The fast-food restaurant is promoting a ‘buy one, get one free‘ chicken sandwich sale on November 10 at its Cleveland location.
