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Articles
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| New fast-food regs target permitting process |
VOICE writes, "New fast-food regs target permitting process
BY BEN WEINSTEIN
The District recently adopted new regulations for fast-food establishments — the catalyst for change sprang from clashes over businesses on H Street, NE.
The Zoning Commission finalized the rules in July and they officially took effect Sept. 28. The goal was to more narrowly define fast-food establishments in order to simplify the permitting process. The Northeast Capitol Hill advisory neighborhood commission (ANC 6A) said the old regulations were too murky to effectively control such establishments. "
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“This should really help [the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs] in the permitting process regarding what ‘qualifies’ for a restaurant use versus a fast food establishment use in the zoning regulations,” Commissioner Joe Fengler said in an e-mail.
The Zoning Commission agreed that the old regulations needed updating to keep pace with changes in the food industry. “The ever-evolving business model in the restaurant industry allows for increasing flexibility in layout, service style, and food preparation,” the Zoning Commission’s order states.
The zoning commission said the new definitions will make it easier for the regulatory department when reviewing food-establishment permit applications. For example, if plans don’t show a dishwashing station, then the zoning administrator could classify it a fast-food establishment, which requires a zoning review, and allows public input, before permits can be granted.
The neighborhood commission petitioned for the changes after it appealed restaurant permits granted to a Blimpie franchise, Cluck-U Chicken and an eatery called Birdland — all on the H Street corridor. In those cases, the neighborhood commission said the establishments were clearly fast food, not restaurants, and therefore required special exceptions to open.
Neighborhood commissioners said they didn’t object to fast-food establishments on the corridor; they merely wanted them correctly classified so the residents could mitigate, through the special exception process, negative impacts to abutting residential areas.
The new category prepared-food shop distinguishes between fast-food establishments and businesses like ice cream parlors and coffee shops, which serve mostly non-cooked foods and non-alcoholic beverages. Prepared-food shops do not need special exceptions.
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Posted on Oct 09, 2007 08:05am.
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