San Diego plan to ban new drive-thru restaurants near transit faces opposition

By David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune

A city proposal to ban new drive-thru restaurants near mass transit in San Diego is facing strong opposition from the restaurant industry and some community leaders.

Supporters say the plan would be a logical and necessary step as San Diego strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging people to give up their cars in favor of public transit, cycling and walking.

Drive-thru restaurants, they say, encourage people to use their cars and trucks and make it more dangerous to walk and bike, because drivers are distracted while leaving a drive-thru and because long lines often spill into bike lanes and sidewalks.

But opponents say the plan would discourage restaurants that rely on drive-thrus from opening, especially in low-income neighborhoods. They also say the policy would make life harder for elderly and disabled people who need cars.

The proposal would not require existing drive-thrus located near transit to close, but no new ones could open. It would apply only to restaurants, not drive-thru pharmacies or banks.

Opposition groups have persuaded city officials to delay approval of the new policy. Instead, officials will meet with the local restaurant industry to discuss possible impacts and study how such bans were handled in other cities, such as Palm Springs and Long Beach.

The ban has been opposed by the city's Planning Commission, the City Council's Land Use and Housing Committee and a coalition of neighborhood leaders called the Community Planners Committee.

The proposed drive-thru ban could be characterized as San Diego's next step after it eliminated parking requirements for housing developers in transit areas two years ago and then it wiped out parking requirements for businesses near transit last month.

The ban would only apply to areas known as "transit priority areas," which are areas within a half mile of a trolley line, a bus rapid transit station or two high-frequency bus routes.

The policy changes are part of a larger campaign to make San Diego a more transit-friendly big city that is less reliant on cars, which are the city's No. 1 producer of greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.

"Auto-oriented uses, such as drive-thrus, are inconsistent in areas that are prioritized for active transportation and transit uses," said city planning officials, stressing that existing drive-thrus would not be forced to close. "The city must plan for land uses that are consistent, with not only transit use, but also with an active and thriving pedestrian environment."

Andy Hanshaw, leader of the city's Mobility Board and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, said San Diego must make such moves to encourage more bike and transit use.

"We need to think big and think bold," he said. "We need to reduce car exhaust and the idling of cars that happens at drive-thrus."

The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce acknowledged that the ban could play a role in helping San Diego meet its climate action plan goals but lobbied against the ban anyway.

"We'd like to see a further analysis of how specifically a drive-thru and drive-in ban on future eating and drinking establishments in transit priority areas will contribute to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions," said Summer Bales, policy coordinator for the chamber.

The California Restaurant Association said the proposal includes no data or evidence to support such a major change.

The American Association of Retired Persons said it's crucial to study how such bans in other cities have affected senior citizens.

The proposal had been among three dozen zoning and regulatory changes the city's Planning Department has proposed as part a sweeping package of reforms. But the land use committee voted Nov. 3 to remove it for further analysis.

Other proposals in this year's package include incentives for new child-care centers, softer restrictions for veterinarians downtown and looser requirements for storage spaces and balconies in new apartments and condominiums.

The City Council is scheduled to vote Monday on the package. If approved, the changes won't take effect in coastal areas of the city until they are considered next year by the California Coastal Commission.

City officials have not provided an estimate of how long it will take to analyze the proposed drive-thru ban and possibly submit it for council approval.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.

©2021 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Daily News Briefing