Spokane council considering yearlong ban on new drive-thrus in swaths of the city

April 10, 2026 Updated Fri., April 10, 2026 at 7:45 p.m.

By Emry Dinman emryd@spokesman.com (509) 459-5472

New drive-thrus could be banned in large swaths of Spokane for a year under an emergency moratorium being rushed to the City Council on Monday.

If approved, the moratorium would affect most of the Division Street corridor north of the river, along with large sections of Hamilton and Monroe, a chunk of East Central around Sprague, and a number of other isolated areas of the city. The moratorium would not affect drive-thrus that already have a building permit approved by the city.

The moratorium is targeted to areas of the city near existing or planned high-traffic transit stops, including the anticipated Division Rapid Transit line expected to launch in 2030, with council sponsors Kitty Klitzke and Zack Zappone arguing that drive-thrus increase the risk of cars crashing into pedestrians and cyclists, according to documents prepared for the full council’s consideration.

The call to halt new drive-thru construction comes as the city works to update its development codes and comprehensive plan, both of which steer what can be built where in city limits. In the interim, the moratorium would halt projects that “run counter to the adopted goals, plans and aims” of the city, according to council documents.

It’s not the first time in recent years that this council has tried to pump the brakes on new drive-thrus in congested areas of the city. In 2024, Councilman Paul Dillon worked to change the zoning on a busy stretch of East 29th Avenue to prohibit new drive-thrus in the area, which at least one business saw as a personal attack: a new Chick-Fil-A that had been slated for the neighborhood.

In 2025, that business pivoted to seek a permit at the intersection of Ruby and Mission – which lands squarely inside of the new, much larger moratorium area being considered. That project, at least, won’t be affected; city officials confirmed Friday evening that the business has secured its building permit.

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