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<\/a>Lewis said the suit is not \u201canti-Jack In The Box\u201d but rather pro-neighborhood and pro-community planning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about the ability to transition a neighborhood according to the community plan and what the zoning calls for,\u201d said Lewis about the rationale for the lawsuit. Lewis noted that in 2000, the community and the City agreed to transition the area around North Park Jack In The Box into a neighborhood commercial zone, which precludes auto-intensive uses like drive-thrus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere used to be a filling station there and an ice manufacturing plant, and, along with the restaurant drive-thru, they were no longer appropriate for the way the neighborhood has grown up,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cWith residential streets on both sides, auto-intensive uses are no longer in the future for that area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Omar Passons, another North Park community planner agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a business fairness issue,\u201d Passons said. \u201cThe zoning for that area was changed in 2000, no longer allowing a drive-thru. Either all businesses need to abide by these laws as they exist, or they don\u2019t. That\u2019s really what\u2019s at issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Passons, who serves on the North Park Community Planning Group and North Park Community Association, said Jack In The Box could have preserved its previously nonconforming right to have a drive-thru by remodeling rather than rebuilding their North Park venue. He said in opting for a rebuild, they voided that grandfathered right.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey absolutely had that opportunity [to keep the drive-thru] if they had not demolished the building and rebuilt it bigger,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
North Park residents initially hoped they would get help from the City in blocking the drive-thru, but ultimately did not. A stop-work order was proposed by Mayor Bob Filner, but later rescinded on the advice of the City Attorney because of advanced construction on the project. The City Attorney deemed it would be legally \u201cvulnerable\u201d in any potential lawsuit brought by the restaurant chain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe advised the Mayor\u2019s office in writing as to the legal strengths and weaknesses of stopping the Jack In The Box project at this point,\u201d said Michael Giorgino, interim communications director for the City Attorney. \u201cBased upon that, the Mayor\u2019s office decided not to issue a stop-work notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Council President Todd Gloria, whose district includes the North Park location, weighed in on the controversy in his most recent newsletter.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike many North Park residents, I am offended by the current Jack In The Box project,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThe project is not only inconsistent with the Greater North Park Community Plan, but also fails to take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to implement good planning principles at a prime location.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gloria also said he would not support Jack In The Box\u2019s proposal unless they satisfied the community\u2019s concerns. He said the Planning Commission recommended that the project be denied as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of heeding the suggestions of the community and the Planning Commission, Jack In The Box chose to resubmit their project through the City\u2019s Development Services Department as a \u2018remodel\u2019 under Section 12.7.1 of the Land Development Code, even though the project, to all appearances, is a complete rebuild,\u201d Gloria said. \u201cThis allowed the project to be permitted without any review or approval by the City Council.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Land Development Code must be changed so that \u201cthis scenario cannot be repeated,\u201d Gloria said in the newsletter, and the Council President has requested research into \u201cpotential changes to the law\u201d to help prevent this from occurring in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI expect staff to solicit input from the Community Planners Committee and other stakeholders and report back to the City Council\u2019s Land Use and Housing Committee this fall with suggested changes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Efforts through the Mayor and City Attorney have not resulted in work being stopped, and Lewis said the community deserves better.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat drive-thru wasn\u2019t there originally,\u201d he said. \u201cAt some point it was [added] and that has created so many traffic problems at that T-intesection, with traffic stacking up and the loud squawk box at night with the entrance off a main residential street, which you couldn\u2019t do today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lewis said the drive-thru \u201chas always been a nightmare, always been a problem with pedestrians unable to cross anywhere nearby,\u201d and a public protest opposing the construction was held in front of the Jack In The Box on Aug. 5.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe in North Park have always said Jack In The Box could have the type of project that fit into the neighborhood,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cBut to allow a drive-thru in the community for another 40 years is just not acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Representatives from Jack In The Box could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n