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Eff.: ORDINANCE NO. ____________
AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF BURBANK ESTABLISHING A MORATORIUM ON NEW AND
REPLACEMENT RESTAURANTS WITH DRIVE -THROUGHS AND THE
CONVERSION OF BUSINESSES WITH DRIVE- THROUGHS INTO
DRIVE-THROUGH RESTAURANTS CITYWIDE
City Attorney’s Synopsis
This interim urgency ordinance enacts a moratorium on the establishment of new and replacement restaura nts with drive -throughs and the conversion of businesses with drive-throughs into drive-through restaurants citywide. This ordinance also prohibits expansion of business operations for residentially adjacent restaurants with drive-throughs past 10:00 p.m. during the moratorium period.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK FINDS, DETERMINES AND DECLARES THAT:
A. City of Burbank Charter Section 500 authorizes the City Council to adopt an interim urgency ordinance as an emergency measure for preserving the public health, safety, and general welfare.
B. The Burbank Municipal Code (Code) defines Restaurants with Drive- Throughs as any establishment , which is engaged in the business of preparing and purveying food where provision is made for serving of food to patrons in vehicles for consumption at a separate location either on or off the premises.
C. City Code Sections 10-1-502, 10-1-1608, 10-1-1609 and Section 10-1-2706.8, collectively contain development standards that regulate the City’s review and approval of restaurants with drive-throughs and the conversion of businesses with drive-throughs into drive-through restaurants citywide.
D. Without the proposed interim urgency ordinance, the City may be forced to approve new restaurants with drive- throughs along the City’s major commercial corridors that are adjacent to existing neighborhoods without the benefit of updated objective development standards, tailored to address the current design and operational demands of this use that can help protect the public health, safety and general welfare.
E. Under the existing zoning regulations, new and replacement restaurants with drive-throughs as well as the conversion of existing businesses with drive- throughs into drive-throughs have the potential to create safety hazards for traffic and pedestrians resulting from traffic conditions, including unexpected stopping of vehicles, vehicular blind spots, unanticipated lane changes to avoid vehicle queues that spill onto City streets, all of which affect the ability of pedestrians to safely navigate on sidewalks across driveway aprons and on street crossings that are impacted by lines of cars. Residents, businesses, and City Councilmembers have expressed concerns that the current zoning regulations for
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new and replacement restaurants with drive- throughs and the conversion of businesses with drive-throughs into drive-through restaurants do not fully address the adverse impacts that these businesses that rely primarily on drive -through traffic as part of an evolving business model, have on the surrounding neighborhoods and major streets.
F. The increased demand for potential drive- through sites located on major thoroughfares has created concerns that other existing drive- through restaurant sites and/or other businesses with existing drive-throughs are susceptible to conversion into new or replacement drive-through restaurants with negative effects throughout the City. Some of the potential “conversion sites” include, but are not limited to:
• Fosters Freeze at 201 S. Glenoaks Boulevard
• CVS Pharmacy at 1820 W. Verdugo Avenue
• Chase Bank at 1551 W. Olive Avenue
• Bank of America at 142 E. Olive Avenue
• Comerica Bank at 1090 N. San Fernando Boulevard
• Gain Federal Credit Union at 1800 W. Magnolia Boulevard • CVS Pharmacy at 101 E. Alameda Avenue
• Wells Fargo at 2320 W. Victory Boulevard
• Norms Burger Restaurant at 1201 W. Magnolia Boulevard • Walgreens Pharmacy at 2501 W. Magnolia Boulevard
• Retro Dairy Mart at 4420 W. Magnolia Boulevard
• Baskin Robbins at 1201 S. Victory Boulevard
Based on the list of potential conversion sites and their proximity to existing residential neighborhoods on the City’s major commercial corridors, new or replacement restaurants with drive-through facilities as well as the conversion of businesses with drive-throughs into drive-through restaurants could result in: extended queuing; spill over traffic; speeding; the blocking of vehicular travel lanes, obstruction of public sidewalks and driveways; excessive late night noises, loitering, and increased trash, which are significant compatibility issues with surrounding neighborhoods.
G. On October 4, 2022, pursuant to Government Code Section 65858, the City Council considered a n interim urgency ordinance to establish a moratorium on new and replacement restaurants with drive-throughs and the conversion of businesses with drive- throughs into drive-through restaurants citywide.
H. The City Council considered the report and recommendations of the Community Development Director and the evidence presented at such meeting.
I. The City Council finds that the unmitigated development of additional new and replacement restaurants with drive-throughs and the conversion of businesses with drive- throughs into drive- through r estaurants under the current development standards may have the potential to create hazards for commuters and pedestrians in the surrounding neighborhoods and commercial corridors.
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J. The City Council finds that the proposed Interim Urgency Ordinance is necessary to preserve the public health, safety, and welfare, as the approval of additional new and replacement restaurants with drive- throughs and the conversion of businesses with drive-throughs into drive- through restaurants throughout the City under the existing zoning regulations has the potential to create the safety issues for traffic and pedestrians resulting from traffic impacts , including unexpected stopping of vehicles, blind spots, speeding and unsafe lane c hanges to avoid lines on City streets, and hazards to pedestrians attempting to cross driveway aprons and streets impacted by lines of cars.
K. The City Council finds that the adoption of the urgency ordinance is necessary to allow City staff adequate time to review the current regulations applicable to new and replacement restaurants with drive-throughs as well as the conversion of businesses with drive-throughs to drive- through restaurants , review development standards of other jurisdictions that have dealt with similar issues, and prepare a future Zone Text Amendment to update the City’s current development standards governing the approval and development of new and replacement restaurants with drive- throughs and the conversion of businesses with drive -throughs into drive- through restaurants citywide to balance the need to facilitate the ongoing responsible development of successful new restaurants with drive-throughs in order to protect the public health, safety, general welfare and character of existing neighborhoods and viability of nearby businesses.
L. While this Interim Urgency Ordinance is in effect, all development standards applicable to sites that were previously issued building permits and other entitlements , including a CUP as noted in the Code , that are not in conflict with this Interim Urgency Ordinance shall remain in full force and effect.
M. The City Council has determined that the adoption of this ordinance is statutorily exempt from CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, section 15061(b)(3), because the activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. The p roposed urgency ordinance maintains the status quo and prevents changes in the environment pending the completion of the contemplated Zoning Ordinance review, because there is no possibility that this urgency ordinance may have a significant adverse effect on the environment, the adoption of this urgency ordinance is exempt from CEQA.
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
1. All the findings set forth above are true and correct and are incorporated herein as if restated in their entirety.
2. No permits may be approved for new and replacement restaurants with drive- throughs, as well as the conversion of existing businesses with drive- through to a restaurant with drive-through, citywide.
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3. Existing, legally established residentially adjacent restaurants with drive- throughs shall not expand business operations between the hours of 10:00 p.m . to 6:00 a.m.
Residentially Adjacent as defined by BMC section 10-1-203.
4. The Interim Urgency Ordinance shall be introduced, passed, and adopted at one and the same meeting and shall become effective immediately upon the adoption thereof and shall expire and be of no further force and effect after forty -five (45) days from the date of its adoption, unless further extended on or before this forty-fifth (45th) day.
5. Any restaurant(s) with a drive-through with a Conditional Use Permit previously approved by the City and not Residentially Adjacent as defined by BMC section 10- 1-203 prior to the effective date of this ordinance are exempt from this ordinance.
6. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Interim Urgency Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed and adopted this Interim Urgency Ordinance, and each and all provisions hereof, irrespective of the fact that one or more provisions may be declared invalid.
7. The City Clerk shall certify to t he passage of this Interim Urgency Ordinance and cause this Interim Urgency Ordinance to be published, within fourteen days of the adoption hereof, once in a newspaper of general circulation, published and circulated in the City of Burbank, California.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this ____ day of October, 2022.
____________________________
Jess A. Talamantes
Mayor
Approved as to Form:
Attest: Office of the City Attorney
____________________________ By: _________________________ Zizette Mullins, MMC, City Clerk Joseph H. McDougall City Attorney
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss.
CITY OF BURBANK )
I, Zizette Mullins, MMC, City Clerk of the City of Burbank, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. ___________ was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the Council of the City of Burbank at its regular meeting held on the ____ day of October, 2022, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
I further certify that said Synopsis was published as required by law in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Burbank, California within 14 days following of the ordinance’s adoption on ______, 2022.
____________________________
Zizette Mullins, MMC, City Clerk