L.A. Moves Closer to Limiting New Fast-Food Restaurants
Los Angeles has moved a step closer to banning new fast-food restaurants for at least a year in a significant swath of the city.
A city council committee last night unanimously approved a measure calling for at least a one-year moratorium on new fast-food franchises in a 32-square-mile area including South L.A., which has the city’s highest concentration and the county’s biggest weight problem, reports the Los Angeles Times. Such “health zoning” is intended to help residents make healthier food choices.
Under the proposed ordinance, a fast-food restaurant is defined as “any establishment which dispenses food for consumption on or off the premises, and which has the following characteristics: a limited menu, items prepared in advance or prepared or heated quickly, no table orders and food served in disposable wrapping or containers,” the newspaper reports.
It says lobbyists for the restaurant industry initially opposed the legislation, but are now taking a wait-and-see approach. One critical definition that reportedly has not yet been nailed down is “fast food.”
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “LA ‘Health Zoning’ Would Limit Fast Food”
