Sentinel staff report–
Citrus Heights Vice Mayor Tim Schaefer on Thursday sought the support of his fellow council members in considering a five-year moratorium on new drive-thru restaurants, saying the city has gone “a little over the top” on such businesses.
“You know we have an awful lot of drive-thru establishments, restaurants, and coffee shops and I’d really like to see us slow down on adding more,” said Schaefer in comments made at the close of a Jan. 27 City Council meeting. “We’re going a little over the top on, in my opinion, on drive-thru restaurants.”
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Last year, a total of four drive-thru establishments opened in Citrus Heights: Raising Cane’s on Greenback Lane, Rally’s on Auburn Boulevard, Starbucks on Sunrise Boulevard, and a new Burger King on Greenback Lane.
Other council members seemed unsure whether to support Schaefer’s proposal, which would need three council members to agree to putting the item on a future agenda for further discussion or a vote, according to council rules.
Councilman Bret Daniels said he would support Schaefer’s request, “simply because I think as a council member you have a right to have that brought back and discussed,” but said he didn’t know if he was ready “to support it in concept.”
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Mayor Porsche Middleton proposed instead bringing the item up as a study session, rather than a moratorium, saying she “would like to look at it and see how it fits with any General Plan amendments or anything like that.”
Councilwoman Jeannie Bruins said she concurred with the mayor, noting she had a problem with the word “moratorium.” She recalled addressing plans for Sunrise Mall several years ago and considering a moratorium on development, but knew it “would do harm other businesses” to do so.
Bruins suggested bringing the topic back instead as a “discussion item” for a future agenda, which garnered the support of the vice mayor and mayor, giving it the required minimum of three council members in agreement to add an item to an upcoming agenda.
In a controversial move two years ago, the council narrowly adopted a requirement to have a majority of the council be in agreement before adding items to the agenda for discussion or a vote. Previously, the council’s policy was to only require the support of two members.
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