Bucks not clucks — that’s the future for a contested commercial site in Campbell set to become a Chase Bank instead of a Chick-fil-A that residents fought against twice.

The Campbell Planning Commission on May 12 unanimously approved the Chase project on a one-acre site at 2060 S. Bascom Avenue, one block south of The Pruneyard shopping center. The 3,600-square-foot building, along with 31 parking spaces, replaces a former Denny’s restaurant that has been vacant since 2021. The project does not require City Council approval.

“We have a building that’s been abandoned for a number of years and this is a big improvement,” Planning Commission Vice Chair Gary Aquilina, who lives just a block from the site, told San José Spotlight. “They will also add landscaping that will be beneficial.”

It is unclear when the bank is expected to open. At the meeting, developer Colliers Engineering & Design could not confirm the bank would replace an existing Chase office in The Pruneyard, just a quarter mile from the new site.

Prior to the approval of the bank, officials had weighed two separate proposals to bring a Chick-fil-A to the location. Commissioners approved an initial application for the fast-food restaurant in 2020, which raised concerns from residents about future restaurant customers taking shortcuts through their neighborhood, causing traffic congestion, as well as leaving trash on the streets. The city council then voted against the project.

Another Chick-fil-A proposal surfaced for the same location in 2024, but was withdrawn in the face of continued opposition from residents.

“The area was just not a fit for Chick-fil-A,” Catherine Clock, a Campbell real estate agent who lives in the adjacent Dry Creek neighborhood, told San José Spotlight.

In contrast to the Chick-fil-A proposals, the Chase project raised no objections from either residents or planning commissioners.

Vikki Essert, a Dry Creek resident who was active in organizing opposition to Chick-fil-A, said all the neighbors she’s talked with are glad to have the bank — with limited business hours and customer traffic — instead of a fast-food restaurant.

“I’m very happy to live in Campbell where (residents) can have this kind of influence and (elected officials) listen to us,” Essert told San José Spotlight.

Contact Mike Langberg at mike@langberg.com.

This story originally appeared in San José Spotlight.