Council moves to ban new drive-throughs in Culver City

The Culver City City Council voted Monday night to implement an urgency ordinance placing a 45-day moratorium on the issuance of new building permits for drive-through businesses. This moratorium could be made permanent, as the City Council also directed the city’s Planning Commission to consider a regular ordinance to ban the construction of new drive-through businesses in Culver City.

If implemented, this regular ordinance would effectively kill a project as currently proposed at 5400 Sepulveda Blvd. to build a new In-N-Out restaurant. Resident concerns related to the project were wide-ranging and numerous, including impacts on area traffic, detrimental environmental impacts from idling vehicles, attracting vermin populations, and increased potential for public incidents and conflicts.

Discussion related to a potential ban on new drive-through projects was remanded to the Mobility Subcommittee in February while In-N-Out was in the process of holding community meetings. When the Mobility Subcommittee considered the item on May 12, the applicants for the In-N-Out project noted that they anticipated submitting their application for final review by June 15.

To implement an urgency ordinance and legislative zoning code amendment under Culver City Charter Section 614, the city must be able to prove that there is a “current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, or welfare,” and that the approval of entitlements for projects results in that danger being presented to the public. The impending submission of the In-N-Out application creates an immediate need, while public concerns were significant and widespread enough to be deemed a threat.

The urgency ordinance will primarily be used to give city staff time to draft a traditional ordinance with no sunset date. This urgency ordinance may be extended for up to 2 years under California Government Code Section 65858.

Councilmembers Dan O’Brien and Albert Vera each presented potential conflicts of interest that led them to recuse themselves. O’Brien’s employment with the Culver City Chamber of Commerce led him to recuse himself out of caution, while Vera’s business — Sorrento Italian Market — is within 1000 feet of the site of the proposed In-N-Out, which was mentioned by name in the urgency ordinance.

However, because the item required a four-fifths majority vote to take action under Section 65858, one of the two recused councilmembers must legally participate and is granted an exception under the Political Reform Act for determining conflicts of interest. The decision of whether O’Brien or Vera would participate was required to be a random selection, so the decision was made by comparing a single dice roll. Vera ended up rolling a higher number, giving him the exemption to participate.

Vera said he didn’t see an issue with the In-N-Out project on the surface and felt this ordinance was targeted at a particular business. Despite that, he leaned on the community's concerns and supported the urgency ordinance and the move towards a ban.

Vice Mayor Bubba Fish cited several other cities making a similar decision that new drive-throughs were not compatible with the city they wanted to build in his support of a drive-through ban. Fish — who is one of two members of the Standing Mobility Subcommittee alongside Mayor Freddy Puza — also noted the proximity of the In-N-Out project to El Rincon Elementary School and the impacts negative environmental changes could have on those kids.

“Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gases, and we know drive-throughs create these pollution hotspots,” Fish said. “That’s a public health concern.”

Considering this ordinance without the shadow of the In-N-Out project hanging over it was important to ensure its quality, Fish argued. Banning new drive was consistent with the General Plan 2045, which currently guides the city's direction, as one of its goals is to reduce vehicle emissions and the detrimental environmental impacts that accompany them.

Puza emphasized that this decision would not impact the nine existing drive-through businesses within Culver City's borders and was unconvinced by the argument about the potential negative fiscal impact this decision could have. He felt the decision was less about targeting drive-through institutions in particular and more about laying the foundation for the urban environment that is best for Culver City residents over the next 25-30 years.

“Economic development and environmental responsibility are not mutually exclusive,” Puza said. “Culver City can continue attracting restaurants, retailers, and employers without requiring drive-through facilities.”

While Vera was on board, he preferred to send the item to the city’s Planning Commission first rather than forgo the Commission and bring the document from city staff’s pens to the city council's eyes. He received support from his colleagues, and the final motion passed 4-0 following O’Brien’s recusal.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this article claimed the In-N-Out project was considered by the Planning Commission and close to approval. This error has been corrected. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.