The Arden Arcade CPAC meeting on 4/27/17 was a "workshop" in which the developers showed great-looking artwork to a room full of people who were concerned about the proposal to put two drive-up-window fast food joints along Watt Avenue in the PetsMart/Smart&Final/RiteAid shopping center at Watt and Arden. Though people understand the site is a commercial shopping center, there were many issues about the specific proposal that caused anxiety. As usual, when the meeting was over it was apparent that the interests of the community didn't seem to matter much. In response to concerns about drive-through-window loudspeaker noise, the County has since posted the noise study that states {surprise!} noise is no big deal. This is like what the County said before the Quick Quack Car Wash was approved. As one of the CPAC audience members testified at the meeting, Quick Quack's noise is now driving neighbors nuts. There's this pattern: developer proposes a project that bends or breaks rules, the community objects, the developer writes an analysis about the objections being baseless, the County then approves a project the community doesn't want. The Merlone-Geier proposal for Watt and Arden is following that pattern. Some key features enabling that pattern are the use of a powerless CPAC to keep the public at arm's length and near-automatic approval by a Planning Commission dominated by appointees who have no connection to, and limited familiarity with, the impacted community. The next steps in the Merlone-Geier project's approval process have not been announced {another surprise!}, but it seems from the release of the noise study that the project is marching along as though the project is a good thing--even if the public doesn't agree.