In terms of controversy, the Hooters hearing in Rohnert Park Thursday was a bust.
Plans to open a franchise of the international restaurant chain known for its scantily clad waitresses failed to bring much interest from the public at the city Planning Commission meeting.
No residents spoke for or against the project during the hearing, which was dominated by technical issues.
Commissioners, whose discussion was limited to color schemes and LED lighting, unanimously approved the application by the Modesto-based RP Wings, LLP., which owns five other franchises in the Bay Area.
"We welcome their business and we wish them great success," Vice Chairman Susan Adams said.
John Trani, general manager of the company, said he was not surprised to hear no opposition to his project. None of the company's other restaurants - in San Francisco, Dublin, Fremont, Campbell and San Bruno - have faced opposition, he said.
But just because no one spoke doesn't mean no one's against the plan, said Susie Schneider, a music teacher and mother who attended the hearing but left after it became clear the commission wasn't planning to discuss whether a Hooters should come to town, just what it should look like.
"Many people I know are offended because it has a reputation of being demeaning to women and not being family-friendly," Schneider said.
Schneider said she worried about the message the city was sending to its youth and about the type of people that would be drawn to the city to patronize the restaurant.
But Trani said such critics usually have never been to a Hooters and if they did they probably wouldn't take such offense. "We're just like any other restaurant," he said.
Because the zoning for the property on Redwood Drive just north of Rohnert Park Expressway permits a restaurant, the commission's job was to merely consider the site plan and exterior design, Planning and Building Manager Marilyn Ponton said.
So instead of family values or the objectification of women, the commission instead debated whether to allow the restaurant's awning to be terra cotta (yes) or to have a strip of LED lights across the roof (no).
The building will have a gray and orange exterior, a covered entry, and a sign with a Hooters owl logo over the door.
The restaurant is expected to employ 35 to 45 Hooters Girls and 20 to 25 employees in other "gender-neutral" jobs, Trani said.
It would have seating for 197 be open from 11 a.m. to midnight most weeknights, until 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and until 11 p.m. on Sundays.
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