Napa might have some of the country’s best wine, but it might soon lose an icon of American culture: drive-thrus.
The city in Northern California has a proposed ban on drive-thrus as part of a move to shift the city away from car dependency as well as lowering carbon emissions. Led by the Napa Planning Commission, the sweeping ban could impact more than just fast food restaurants—the businesses most commonly associated with drive-thrus. For instance, services like drive-thru car washes or pharmacy services could be affected by the new regulations.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the ban has been in the works for years, although it wasn’t until last week that staff from the Napa Planning Commission were directed to proceed with the planned restrictions. Final approval is still required from the Napa City Council, which will decide whether or not the ban is set to proceed.
The ban wouldn’t entirely get rid of drive-thrus, leaving behind existing infrastructure and allowing existing drive-thrus like In-N-Out and McDonald’s to continue operating as is.
Napa is not the only city in California taking a stance against drive-thrus. Notably, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo already have bans in place. Culver City—a part of Los Angeles County—is currently considering a permanent ban in addition to the current moratorium on new drive-thru restaurants, which was set earlier this month.
But not all bans look the same. For instance, most drive-thrus are banned in Calistoga, CA yet the city still allows permits for financial institutions. While the specifics are still to be determined and announced, Napa could potentially follow in the footsteps of Calistoga and add exceptions to the ban.
But many are not entirely on board with the ban, with critics questioning the extent the ban would actually have in lowering emissions, and pointing out that it could start a different problem like a sudden increase in parking needs.
“Promoting walkability downtown and promoting walkability in certain areas and increasing that makes a lot of sense, in certain areas it doesn’t make as much sense. I have three little kids, I can tell you, a drive-thru sometimes saves my rear end,” Commissioner Alex Myers said at a May planning commission meeting. “There are a lot of benefits to drive-thrus.”