Commission approves 85‑foot freeway sign for Chick‑fil‑A; commissioners weigh landscaping and PG&E clearance

The Oroville Planning Commission on March 26 approved Use Permit UP2605 for an approximately 85‑foot freeway‑oriented sign for the new Chick‑fil‑A at 310 Oro Dam Boulevard East (APN 035030108).

Staff told the commission that the proposed sign exceeds the city’s 80‑foot height limit and therefore requires a use permit. The applicant provided a balloon (flag) visibility test and photos submitted in the packet; staff also flagged nearby overhead utility lines and recommended coordination with PG&E prior to construction. The staff recommendation included a CEQA exemption (section 15311) and approval of UP2605 with findings and conditions and adoption of Resolution P2026‑09.

Steve Rosen Bloom, representing the applicant, said his team conducted the balloon test with city staff and described the sign as necessary to provide visibility from the freeway corridors. "We did that and when I say flag test, balloon test, same thing...that's how the height was determined," he said. Rosen Bloom told commissioners the sign will have an aluminum pole cladding that covers the pole to improve its appearance and that the team will double‑ and triple‑check safety and utility clearances.

Commissioners debated whether to require enhanced landscaping at the sign base, noting the code calls for a landscaped box at the pole base and that cobble made planting difficult at some locations. Staff said the site plan shows landscaped planting in the same pattern used around the building; the applicant said the base will have an aluminum architectural pole cover. The commission moved and voted to approve the permit; the clerk recorded the vote as six yeses, one absent.

Next steps: the approval is subject to conditions in the staff report, coordination with PG&E for utility clearance (if the commission chooses to include that condition), and any building‑permit work required for the sign foundation and pole cladding.