INGLEWOOD, Calif. (2UG) – The Inglewood city council is being asked to hold a Public Hearing August 22 to modify Chapter 12 of the Inglewood Municipal Code (IMC) to regulate fast-food restaurants, citywide.
The Inglewood Planning Commission voted in favor of imposing a 1,000-foot distance requirement between new or expanded free-standing, single-tenant fast-food structures or existing structures occupied by a new fast-food use of any existing fast-food free-standing, single-tenant fast food structures during its July 5 meeting.
City Planner Bernard McCrumby presented the proposed guidelines where he explained that over the past few years, a number of studies have been conducted, on the over-proliferation of fast food restaurants in minority communities and why they disproportionately target lower-income communities and Inglewood is no exception.
Citing a potential over-proliferation of fast food restaurants, the 34-page staff report lays out the proposed 1,000-foot distance requirement that would be similar in scope to the current requirements imposed on hair and nail salons.
According to the Finance Department, there are over 200 fast active fast-food/take-out establishments registered in the City.
“There are approximately 15 fast food establishments, with drive-thru’s, along the 2.6-mile corridor between LaCienega and Crenshaw.”
In order to determine over-proliferation, the City used McDonald’s as a benchmark to compare with nearby cities.
“I applaud the local government’s effort to improve the food landscape for the health of the citizens of Inglewood. It’s more than other city councils are willing to do,” said Dr. Steven Graves, Professor of Geography, who studies public health issues at California State University, Northridge.
The City compared Inglewood with the South Bay, Culver City, and Pasadena and determined an over-proliferation exists based on how many McDonald’s are in each city.
“I don’t like the analysis they used and could have come up with something far better than a McDonald’s per square mile ratio. It’s not really very informative and seems like pretty scant evidence upon which to base legislation,” said Dr. Graves.
The Planning Department is proposing Special Use Permits (SUP) for new and expanded free-standing fast-food uses.
“By requiring a SUP for new and expanded free-standing fast-food uses we will better ensure an additional level of review for potentially sensitive uses and the ability to apply site-specific conditions,” said McCrumby.
“We are also requiring a SUP for drive-thru’s in order to apply site-specific conditions related to traffic, vehicle queuing, on-site circulation, etc. to ensure they are adequately addressed,” said McCrumby.
Site-specific conditions include vehicle queuing for a minimum of eight cars, not obstructing parking spaces or the public Right-of-Way.
These conditions are an ongoing concern at the In N Out site which regularly sees customers queuing on Century Blvd. which obstructs westbound traffic and those entering the shopping center northbound.
The City is also establishing a 1,000-foot distance requirement between new free-standing fast-food restaurants to ensure “no continued over-proliferation of these types of uses”.
The staff is seeking to revise the Inglewood Municipal Code to define dine-in vs. fast-food and add the definition of ghost kitchen and the difference between restaurants and outdoor restaurants.
McCrumby gave no indication of how they would define the various types of restaurant types.
“The Social Justice Learning Institute has a strong history of advocating for health in the built environment, particularly in Inglewood, building growing spaces, making healthy food available and even pushing for policy change. We’ve witnessed the Inglewood City Council take steps toward a healthier built environment. Over the years they’ve made Inglewood a Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) city, enforced a moratorium on fast food establishment development, and more. This ordinance is a critical addition and the hope is that our current council can appropriately tackle the difficult task of defining what fast food is in a way that looks out for locally owned mom-and-pop restaurants and their growth in Inglewood’s future,” said the organization in a released statement.
District 3 Commissioner Aide Trejo says the City’s reputation made fast food a viable option for the demographics, and now that it’s changing, so does the types of food businesses being offered.
“My data shows that part of Inglewood is indeed a “Fast Food Swamp”; and that health outcomes in Inglewood are poor,” said Dr. Graves. “The food landscape has something to do with it, but dietary habits and income are the largest causal factor.”
District 2 Planning Commissioner David Rice offered perspective to the commissioners on what a 1,000-foot distance looks like and how it could affect revenue for the City.
“I took out my ruler and measured McDonald’s on Century and Prairie down to the Jack in the Box and that 403 feet, which puts me almost to Hawthorne Blvd. before we reach 1,000 feet,” said Rice.
No one spoke during the public hearing on either being for or against the proposed amendments to the City’s municipal code. One member of the public spoke on the presentation being “great”.
A commissioner asked about the status of Raising Canes, who sold their land at the corner of Manchester and Prairie due to the reconfiguration of planned stops for the Inglewood Transit Connector (ITC).
“They were displaced because that site is now part of the ITC project and they would fall into different criteria and more of a negotiation,” said Economic and Community Development Director Christopher Jackson.
“If you have a drive-thru restaurant within 1,000 feet and you want to add additional square footage to your existing business, you would not be able to do that,” said Jackson.
Commissioner Rice gave the example of Bravo Burgers being across the street from McDonald’s and asked if they would be able to expand, and add a drive-thru window, under the proposed ordinance.
“No, they would not,” affirmed Jackson. “You have to look at how fast food is transforming and why commercial kitchens become very important because a lot of their business is coming via apps and are picking up a lot of the business.”
Rice was concerned about long-time family-owned businesses being exempt from expanding under the current proposed changes.
“A lot of these free-standing buildings – the mom and pops don’t own those,” said Jackson. “Certainly, this benefits the property owner but we have been actively trying to get our smaller business owners to buy property.”
“If the [owners] aren’t excited about having mom and pops there, and rather have franchises, you are going to see mom and pops go away,” said Jackson.
District 3 Commissioner Aide Trejo moved the motion, and District 4 Commissioner Cheryl Shaw-Williams seconded to approve the proposed regulations with the 1,000-foot separation.
The Planning Commission voted 3-1 to pass the proposed regulations.
Commissioner Rice voted no and District 1 Commissioner Carolyn Fowler was absent.
