Salt Lake City bans new drive-thrus in busy part of Sugar House

SALT LAKE CITY — Adding new drive-thru services will no longer be permitted in a growing piece of Sugar House under a zoning ordinance amendment Salt Lake City leaders approved Tuesday night.

The Salt Lake City Council voted unanimously to approve an ordinance that prohibits new drive-thru facilities from being built within the neighborhood’s business district, a section between 2100 South and I-80, from about 900 East to 1300 East. All businesses with existing drive-thru options in the district will remain grandfathered in on the old rule and continue to operate their drive-thru service as they are now, according to the city.

The vote followed some consideration to possibly alter the language to allow for financial institutions and pharmacies to be excluded from the ban, following feedback from a public hearing on the issue last month. The council could have voted to approve a second option that only allowed financial institutions, retail goods and retail services to build new drive-thrus; they opted instead for a broader ban.

Moments before the vote, Salt Lake City Council Vice Chairwoman Victoria Petro explained that some public comments helped sway the decision.

“If you have a car, driving outside the bounds of the business district is not difficult for you,” she said. “We’ve already seen that businesses pivot well during pandemics and crises, and we can pivot. But for normal operating sanity, we need to save (Sugar House residents) from any further drive-thrus.”

The Salt Lake City Planning Commission initiated the amendment last year and voted 10-1 in April, giving a favorable recommendation after meetings and other outreach with residents and businesses in the affected Sugar House boundaries and the neighborhood council.

Council members also seemed to lean in favor of the rule change during an information meeting on the matter in July. Salt Lake Council Chairman Darin Mano said it could potentially reduce traffic jams in the area by removing cars backed out onto streets.

“I think there are parts of our community where drive-thrus make sense, and, I think, Sugar House is not one of them anymore,” he said at the time.

Wade Olsen, an executive for Dee’s Incorporated, which owns properties within the boundary, pushed back during an Aug. 8 public hearing, saying he doesn’t believe drive-thrus and walkable communities are “exclusive of each other” as long as planning is done correctly.

But others who attended the meeting agreed with the council. One resident said drive-thrus have “detrimental effects” on the area because of the limited space in the area, while another resident called walking through the district “a nightmare,” and others said more could compound environmental effects as vehicles idle in line.

Meanwhile, city zoning experts explained in July that a new business can still operate a drive-thru if it replaced a similar business with an allowed drive-thru grandfathered in. An appeals officer would have to approve if a new restaurant opened at an old bank site. The carryover can also be abandoned if the building is vacant for more than a year and isn’t marketed for use.