Cities Consider the Merits of Drive Throughs

In this land of autos and freeways, the drive-through restaurant has become a seemingly indispensable part of the landscape. However, in some communities they are not as welcome.

A handful of cities have imposed bans and other restrictions on the drive-through window, including Burbank, which does not allow 24-hour drive-through restaurants in residential neighborhoods.

The city of Los Angeles also may consider restrictions in the next few months.

The drive-through restaurant is the savior of the busy parent, the meeting-bound professional and the daily commuter. But critics point out that the restaurants exacerbate noise, traffic and safety problems.

Should drive-through restaurants be prohibited or restricted?

Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson:

“I think they need to be regulated . . . I wouldn’t say they need to be prohibited . . . We need the abilities to judge the individual restaurants on their merits. I believe we will be coming through with an ordinance soon. We believe there must be some public opportunity and the ability to say no . . . Rather than amend the individual plan, I think we’ll do something citywide . . . We’re not trying to be unreasonable. We have to think in terms of what impact it’s going to have on everybody else.”

Stanley R. Kyker, executive vice president of the California Restaurant Assn.:

“Restrictions should not be imposed on drive-through establishments when zoning provisions have already allowed establishments to open . . . After-the-fact restrictions are just totally inappropriate, and if a city were allowed to impose a restriction, they should be forced to pay restitution . . . If you change the rules as to what the business is, then you have negatively impacted that business, and the investment made is going to take a longer time to make a return.”

Carolyn Berlin, member of the Burbank planning board:

“Burbank has not banned them. Burbank has restricted their hours when they are adjacent to residential neighborhoods, and they can still come to the planning board to make an appeal . . . I think in Burbank we have not had some of the problems perhaps other cities have encountered with traffic piling up into the street . . . Our biggest problems have to do with the late hours, loitering, trash and noise at the ordering windows and loud radios that were disturbing residential sleep. It’s greatly improved now. Understand, there has been significant improvement . . . I think they serve a real convenience for most of the community.”

John Weitkamp, Granada Hills attorney and chairman of the Granada Hills Planning and Environment Citizens Advisory Committee.

“I think a lot depends on the area. The concern basically is that any build-up of heavy traffic flow coming out onto the street adds to the potential for injury, death and damage . . . If you were going to have drive-through restaurants in an area with a traffic signal within a block of another traffic signal, the potential drive-through restaurants [may not be able to] have safe direct access . . . I think they have their place. I’ve been known to frequent them myself . . . There’s a need for redefining city laws.”

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