Council advances ordinance to prohibit drive‑through restaurants as a permitted use in CN zoning

The Cookeville City Council held a public hearing Sept. 4 and approved on first reading an ordinance to remove drive‑through restaurants as a permitted use in the CN Neighborhood Commercial zoning district, following a planning commission recommendation. Mr. Ward, planning division staff, presented the history and the commission’s recommendation. Mr. Ward said the item originated from a request by Peggy Sims and that council previously reviewed the matter and sent it back to the planning commission for further study of protections for adjacent residential neighborhoods. Planning staff researched how comparable cities regulate drive‑throughs and reported examples such as Murfreesboro’s 200‑foot separation between menu boards and adjacent single‑family homes. The planning commission considered options including sound barriers, limits on menu‑board hours, location standards for menu boards, prohibiting amplified menu boards, and dumpster location standards, and ultimately recommended deleting drive‑through restaurants as a permitted use within CN. Councilmember comments during the hearing acknowledged public outreach and neighborhood concerns. One council member said the ordinance “represents what the people in those neighborhoods want to see.” The council opened a public hearing and, seeing no public speakers, closed it before moving to vote; the motion on first reading carried. Staff said the revised ordinance would delete drive‑through restaurants from permitted uses within the CN district and that subsequent steps would follow the normal ordinance process for second reading and adoption.