Posted by
Playful Walrus on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 3:21:39 PM
An arbitrary section of the city will get an arbitrary ban for at least a year on new “fast food” businesses. I guess the state’s ban on trans fat isn’t enough. Los Angeles Times staff writers Molly Hennessy-Fiske and David Zahniser have the story.
A law that would bar fast-food restaurants from opening in South [-Central] Los Angeles for at least a year sailed through the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday.
The council approved the fast-food moratorium unanimously, despite complaints from representatives of McDonald's, Carl's Jr. and other companies, who said they were being unfairly targeted.
Councilwoman Jan Perry, who has pushed for a moratorium for six years, said the initiative would give the city time to craft measures to lure sit-down restaurants serving healthier food to a part of the city that desperately wants more of them.
Instead of trying to micromanage business, why not just let the market work?
The law defines fast-food restaurants 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."
There will be ways around this.
Still, several fast-food workers told the council that the panel was ignoring the good things their franchises accomplish. The workers argued that fast-food establishments provide residents with job opportunities and, in recent years, nutritious menu options.
"McDonald's believes in healthy choices," said Don Bailey, who has owned and operated the company's restaurants in South [-Central] Los Angeles for 22 years.
Another foe of the measure was Madelyn Alfano, whose company, Maria's Italian Kitchen, has restaurants in Sherman Oaks, Brentwood and other parts of the city. Alfano said the law would create new red tape and force restaurateurs to spend thousands more to start businesses.
It’s a big city, but the City Council still thinks they need to micromanage the lives of their residents.
Most of the comments following the story are against the City Council, but these are English readers and writers, and many of the voters aren’t.
I wrote about this mess earlier here and here.