Should drive-thrus be banned? Culver City is considering the question

The City Council in Culver City will consider a citywide ban on new drive-thrus after a group of neighbors raised concerns that a proposed In-N-Out could hurt air quality and create safety issues for pedestrians.

 "Density is inevitable, and development is inevitable,” said Vanessa Martin, a city resident organizing support for the drive-thru ban. “We want to be proactive and smart about it.”

Culver City Councilmember Bubba Fish, who sits on the city’s mobility subcommittee that voted to recommend staff draft the ban in May, said drive-thrus are fundamentally incompatible with the vision the city set for itself in its general plan. The planning document was adopted by the city in 2024.

“We need to be creating more walkable, bikeable, safer streets for people of all modes, and drive-thrus are the antithesis of that,” Fish said.

Drive-thru bans aren’t unprecedented in California. Culver City already bans drive-thrus in its downtown corridor. Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo have had citywide bans for decades. Carlsbad’s citywide ban that began in the late 1990s was recently softened to allow for consideration of new drive-thrus on a case-by-case basis.

Critics of such bans have called drive-thrus an important option for consumers, including people with disabilities and families with children.

In-N-Out did not provide a comment to LAist, saying “as a private, family-owned company, we generally don’t comment publicly on business matters.”

What’s the status of the ban and the In-N-Out?

In early June, the city council passed a 45-day moratorium on approving permits that involve a new drive-thru. In the meantime, city staff is drafting an ordinance banning new drive-thrus. The ordinance will first appear in front of the city’s planning commission for guidance and recommendation before heading to the city council for a vote. Those dates have not yet been set.

If the council approves a citywide ban, the already-existing eight drive-thrus in the city would not be affected — only new businesses. In-N-Out would be the first new drive-thru in Culver City since 1997, according to a city staff report. 

In-N-Out hasn’t yet submitted the formal application for a permit it was preparing when Culver City City Council passed the moratorium, according to city spokesperson Dustin Klemann.

According to a copy of the proposed site plan, the In-N-Out in Culver City would include 61 parking spots and a drive-thru lane that could accommodate 26 vehicles.

Grassroots campaign against In-N-Out drive-thru

After In-N-Out held required community meetings earlier this year about its planned development, Culver City resident Paul Hewitt began distributing flyers calling the project a “terrible idea” to his neighbors.

“I had several people contact me as I was passing out these flyers saying, ‘Hey, I wanna join forces with you,’” Hewitt said. “I gathered up a little ragtag group of neighbors, all different ages, all different backgrounds.”

That group included Martin and her wife Cynthia, who created an online petition urging residents and the city council to oppose the In-N-Out “mega drive-thru” because it would create traffic congestion, worsen local air quality and present safety concerns for pedestrians and cyclists.

The petition has gathered just under 950 signatures in five months.

'Auto-centric' design

Drive-thrus are an element of city planning that urban planners call auto-centric design since it’s a portion of land exclusively devoted to people in cars. Drive-thrus, for example, require breaks in the sidewalk for cars to enter the queue, according to David Morley,  research program manager at the American Planning Association.

Vehicle speed, which is the main factor determining the level of harm to pedestrians during collisions, is less of an issue with drive-thrus. Still, increasing the number of places where a car might interact with pedestrians creates more risk, UCLA’s Madeline Brozen said.

“In a city where we are trying to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities, we need to be very cautious about anything that is going to increase the likelihood for conflicts,” Brozen said.

Drive-thrus don’t necessarily have to come at the expense of walkability and safety, said Jill Bahm, a partner at land consulting firm Giffels Webster.

Bahm said communities could only allow drive-thrus in areas near highway access or where there isn’t a lot of bike or pedestrian traffic. Or they could set drive-thrus behind a building or landscaping to make the business itself more inviting to people not in cars.

Is a ban the right answer?

Jot Condie, the president of the California Restaurant Association, said he sees drive-thru bans as generally “shortsighted.”

“You’re essentially banning quick-service restaurants without specifically stating that,” Condie said.

According to the American Planning Association, 70% of all fast food sales come from customers placing orders at drive-thrus.

When San Diego considered a partial drive-thru ban in 2021, the California Restaurant Association sent a letter saying such a ban would block certain groups, including people with disabilities, access to products and services.

Councilmember Fish said he understands accessibility concerns but thinks there are other ways to make Culver City more accessible, from encouraging walk-up windows, increasing handicap parking and investing in other city services.

How to keep tabs on the city council

The city council meets on the second and fourth Monday of most months in Culver City. Meetings start at 7 p.m.

Here's how you can follow along:

• Attend in person: Mike Balkman Council Chambers, Culver City Hall, 9770 Culver Blvd., Culver City
• Watch the live broadcast or view the archive
• Here's how to submit a comment or contact the council