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Council reviews zoning text amendments to clarify drive‑through rules near university
Summary
City planning staff presented text amendments to the zoning code that would clarify where drive‑through restaurants can locate in the University Commercial district and along Fifteenth Street; council members pressed staff on vehicle stacking and traffic mitigation, and staff said they are coordinating with ALDOT and individual businesses.
City planning staff presented proposed zoning text amendments to clarify where drive‑through restaurants are allowed in the University Commercial district and along Fifteenth Street, prompting council discussion about vehicle stacking, pedestrian safety and traffic control.
The amendments would re‑establish drive‑throughs as permissible uses in specified University Commercial areas that the framework update had made nonconforming, and add Fifteenth Street as a corridor where drive‑throughs would be acceptable, according to the staff presentation.
Planning staff said the change is intended to align the new code with prior practice where quick‑service drive‑throughs already existed. The presenter explained the map showing the University Commercial area and said the amendment “is just kind of cleaning up” where drive‑throughs are allowed.
Council members and staff focused on stacking — cars queuing in drive‑through lanes and blocking travel lanes. A council member asked whether the amendment would address existing sites that currently stack cars into the roadway; staff replied that stacking standards are already in the zoning ordinance for new development and redevelopment but that older approved sites remain nonconforming.
Staff said the city is communicating with the Alabama Department of Transportation about a potential engineering solution on Fifteenth Street that could create a right‑turn lane alongside the roadway so motorists using drive‑throughs would not queue in the travel lane. Staff also said they will follow up with the specific business referenced in the discussion to learn what on‑site measures it is using.
No final vote on the text amendments is recorded in the meeting excerpt; the item was in the public‑hearing portion of the agenda and will proceed through the council’s normal adoption process and any required advertising and noticing.
Next steps include further coordination with ALDOT, follow‑up with the business operator, and the council’s formal consideration of the amendment after required public notice.
