Sometimes, life in the fast lane gives way to life in the drive-through lane.

Such as when the morning commute runs right past your favorite espresso stand, where the barista who knows you (if not by name at least by beverage preference) is waiting to brew your customary latte, mocha or chai tea.

If that’s part of the routine that prepares you for the daily grind, you probably consider it more of a refresher than a risk. But brace yourself. Your options as a consumer may soon be narrowed due to the regulatory zeal of the Spokane Regional Health District. If your latte stop lacks a sewer hookup, it could be boarded up, even though that hasn’t posed a problem in the past.

Fortunately, the Spokane County Board of Health, which oversees the district, has stepped in to see if the enforcement practices make sense. A special subcommittee will examine the facts and recommend some options by February.

When the espresso craze hit the Northwest, entrepreneurial imagination reacted faster than the bureaucracy. Coffee stands began to pop up along all the most traveled arterials.

Not knowing what to make of them, though, health inspectors classified them as “mobile units,” which meant they didn’t have to be hooked up to sewer systems.

That’s not the same thing as saying they were allowed to operate unsanitary facilities. But it did permit them to rely on portable holding tanks to collect the water and leftover beverages that go down the drain. That’s a lot more work for the hired help, who periodically have to dump the tanks at a recreational vehicle site, but it’s considerably cheaper than the thousands of dollars it would cost to hook small-budget operations to a sewer. Not everyone is Starbucks, you know.

It seems to be working, judging by the number of motorists who regularly line up for the daily caffeine quota.

But the Health District decided earlier this year that the coffee stands, not being on wheels, aren’t mobile units after all, but “limited restaurants,” which require sewer hookups.

How this distinction affects public health is unclear. Consider the following exchange that occurred at a Health Board meeting when the issue came up in October. County Commissioner Kate McCaslin, a board member, asked Dr. Kim Thorburn, head of the health district, how many food-related illnesses can be attributed to espresso stands.

Thorburn: “We don’t know.”

McCaslin: “That means none.”

Point well taken. Yet health inspectors are now threatening the food permits of coffee huts unless they connect to sewer.

Espresso stands are a part of the culture, but they’re also small businesses, operated by people who are indulging their capitalistic impulses and contributing to the economy, paying taxes and supporting modest payrolls. Without clear reasons related to public safety, the regulators ought to be making that easier rather than harder.