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July 30th, 2008

L.A. City Council Decides: No New Fast Food Restaurants

Health News posted 2 years ago by The Healia Team

L.A. City Council members voted unanimously today to ban new fast food restaurants from opening in South Los Angeles. The year-long moratorium is intended to give the city time to attract restaurants that serve healthier food. Today’s vote is believed to be the first of its kind by a major city to protect public health.

The Community Health Councils found that 73 percent of South Los Angeles restaurants were fast food, compared to 42 percent in West Los Angeles. It is thought that fast food restaurants are contributing to high obesity rates in South L.A. -- 30% of adults compared with about 21% in the rest of the city. See our previous blog: Los Angeles City Council Considering Legislation that Would Ban Fast-Food Restaurants.

The moratorium only affects stand alone restaurants and does not include fast food establishments located in malls or strip shopping centers. Fast-food restaurants have been defined as those that do not offer table service and provide a limited menu of pre-prepared or quickly heated food in disposable wrapping.

This definition exempts "fast-food casual" restaurants such as El Pollo Loco, Subway, and Pastagina, which do not have drive-through windows or heat lamps and prepare fresh food to order.

The California Restaurant Association and its members are considering a legal challenge to the ordinance.

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