County proposes longer drive‑through queueing standards to reduce spillback onto streets

Sacramento County staff proposed new minimum drive‑through reservoir (queuing) lengths for different business types after a Department of Transportation review and a 2020 local study.

Lead planner Matthew Jamomi summarized the proposal: drive‑through beverage shops (coffee) would require enough reservoir space for 14 vehicles, other restaurants would require 12 spaces, standalone car washes 12, accessory vehicle services 9, banks 6, and pharmacy‑type drive‑throughs 3. Jamomi said these minima are based on the 85th percentile of observed queue lengths and are intended to reduce vehicles backing onto adjacent streets and properties. The proposal also codifies a required queue‑management plan for businesses that might exceed reservoir length, and allows DOT to accept engineering studies to justify lower queue lengths in specific cases.

Commissioners raised tradeoffs with other policies: one commissioner said several specific plan areas created for transit‑oriented development (TOD) have prohibitions on drive‑throughs, creating an inconsistency with countywide queue standards that effectively facilitate more car‑oriented uses. Staff responded that the county’s infill coordinator and corridor‑specific planning work would allow different standards in those identified corridors and that the DOT exception process provides flexibility.

Staff said the new standards apply to new drive‑throughs and to existing sites only when a significant change in use occurs; routine bank ownership changes would not automatically trigger reconfiguration to the new minima.