After a decade of debate and more than two years of review, the St. Paul City Council has approved new regulations around drive-throughs.
Council Member Saura Jost, who took the lead on amending existing drive-through regulations, said she sought to balance business interests and public demand for quick access to food, pharmacies and banking with calls for a safer and more pedestrian-friendly urban environment.
The new rules approved Wednesday do not cap the number of drive-through businesses in the city — which is currently around 75 — but they do bar drive-through lanes within 660 feet of light rail, streetcar or bus rapid transit stations, including planned stations along fully-funded or federally-approved transit corridors. That’s the same distance as a typical city block.
In zoning districts that blend retail and housing, dubbed T3-T4 “traditional neighborhood” districts, the drive-through service windows must be part of a building that is at least four stories in height and 40,000 square feet in floor area.
The ordinance amendment spells out the required number of off-street “stacking” spaces in queuing lanes — six for banks and pharmacies, 12 for fast-food, 14 for coffee shops — and emphasizes that “in no event are vehicles permitted to stack into public sidewalks, trails, bicycle lanes, alleys, or streets.” Additional stacking beyond the minimums could be required by a zoning administrator following site plan review by city staff.
With an eye toward public safety, drive-throughs may continue to operate into the night, long after their on-site dining areas close to the public. A drive-through window is not allowed to double as a walk-up.
For bank, pharmacy and credit unions, drive-through lanes and service windows must be located to the side or rear of buildings and at least 60 feet from a residentially-zoned property, unless that property sits across a major arterial street, or it’s somehow buffered by the building the drive-through is attached to. An exception would be if the residential units are situated in the same building.
If the drive-through is for food and beverages, the distance requirement increases to 120 feet.
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