After several months of study, the City Council approved zoning code text amendments pertaining to the conditional use standards for drive-through restaurants in Creve Coeur at the regular meeting on October 10, 2022. In December 2021, a Joint Work Session with the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council was held to identify planning priorities for 2022. The drive-through regulations were identified as a topic for review. This review was prompted by the rise of contactless food service during the pandemic and concerns with several components of the prior ordinance, which was adopted in 2014.

The amendments continue to provide separate regulations for (1) drive-through restaurants abutting single-family residential uses and (2) drive-through restaurants not abutting single-family residential uses. The amendments for both types of drive-through restaurants address requirements for site design, size of buildings and the operational aspects of these uses.

For drive-through restaurants abutting single-family residential uses, the zoning ordinance was amended to require the order facility and service window be at least 200 feet from the property line of any single-family residential use. This requirement is an increase from the previously required minimum distance of 50 feet. Drive-through restaurants adjacent to single family residential uses must also be located within a multi-tenant building and cannot be freestanding. An additional amendment was also approved requiring the noise levels from the order facility and service window to not exceed 80 decibels. Noise levels at the property line cannot exceed 60 decibels.

Drive-through order facilities and service windows must be at least 50 feet from the property line of multi-family residential uses (e.g., apartment buildings), except when the multi-family residential use is located within the CB-Core Business District. 

For more information, contact the Department of Community Development at 314-872-2501.