Sebastopol City Council makes ban on drive-thru windows permanent

The Sebastopol City Council has unanimously approved an ordinance prohibiting new commercial drive-thru windows in the city, the culmination of more than two years of deliberation on a convenience many opponents say contributes to greenhouse gases and works against pedestrian-oriented development.

The 5-0 vote cast Tuesday night makes permanent a moratorium on drive-thrus first adopted in December 2012 and later extended while policymakers debated the merits of an outright ban.

The timing of the initial moratorium, coming as it did in the thick of controversy over a proposed CVS store and bank downtown, including two drive-up windows, spurred a costly lawsuit against the city that finally was settled last fall.

City officials claimed throughout that CVS was not the target of the new policy, though developers have since dropped drive-thru windows from their plans.

The City Council approved the new ordinance on the recommendation of the Planning Commission. The city joins Petaluma in an outright prohibition of new drive-thru windows. Other communities, such as Windsor and Rohnert Park, restrict new windows to certain areas, while most local cities subject any new drive-up windows to city council review.

The Sebastopol ordinance applies to any retail or service window, whether related to fast food, banking, pharmacies or anything other businesses. Drive-thru windows already in use prior to Dec. 18, 2012, will be permitted to remain under the ordinance.