§ 138-3246. Drive-thru facility or use with a drive-thru.

(a)

Purpose. Drive-thru facilities have become a common amenity for a range of uses. A well designed drive-thru can be convenient for motorists and have minimal impact upon the streetscape and pedestrians. Drive-thru facilities have the potential to generate undesirable impacts for adjacent properties such as odors from vehicle exhaust and noise from engines, car stereos, and menu board speakers. The purpose and intent of this section is to establish appropriate standards which allow for the typical range of activities while ensuring public safety and mitigating the associated impacts.

(b)

Applicability. The provisions of this section shall be applicable to any new or modified drive-thru facility.

(c)

Standards.

(1)

Location. Drive-thru service windows shall be located to take advantage of the first available alternative in the following prioritized list:

a.

Interior side or rear yard when either yard abuts a nonresidential use; or

b.

Street facade when the interior side and rear yard abut an existing residential use; or

c.

Street facade when abutting a nonresidential use where both the interior side and rear yards are impractical due to the lot's physical constraints or concerns regarding vehicle and pedestrian safety.

(2)

Minimum stacking requirements.

a.

Restaurants, retail sales and service and similar commercial uses, shall provide a minimum of five stacking spaces at or behind the menu board.

b.

Banks and similar uses shall provide a minimum of three stacking spaces at or behind the service window/terminal for the drive-thru.

c.

Drive-thru stacking lanes shall be delineated from other vehicular use areas. Stacking lanes may include part of the drive aisles in a parking area.

d.

Stacking lanes shall be designed to ensure that waiting vehicles do not extend into the public right-of-way.

(3)

Old Palm Harbor Downtown District standards. When located in the Old Palm Harbor Downtown District, drive-thru facilities shall be subject to the following requirements:

a.

Drive-thru facilities may only be allowed as part of bank uses located along Alternate U.S. 19.

b.

Drive-thru facilities and associated stacking lanes shall be set back 25 feet from existing residential uses.

(Ord. No. 18-36 , § 3(Att. B), 10-23-18)