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Grounds for compromise? Medford council, coffee drive-in owners will discuss code changes By JESSICA SMITH The Medford City Council listened when owners of area coffee drive-ins said proposed code changes might force them out of the espresso exchange. "All I want to do is stay in business and serve my customers," said Nichole Toney, who last year opened the Coffee Cabin on Barnett Road. "I don't want to be forced out in a year." Following a public hearing Thursday, the council voted to table the code changes, sending the issue instead to a committee of city staffers and drive-in owners. The code changes, meant to bring drive-ins in line with planning policies for other businesses, would have required permanent foundations under the structures and connections to the city's sewer collection system. All drive-ins would have been required to comply with the laws within 12 months. Several business owners said it would be impossible for them to comply with all the proposed code changes at their current locations. Though they agreed that the code should be updated, business owners said they should have been brought into the discussion earlier. "We're not opposed to the changes," said Dan Hawkins, a co-owner in the Human Bean drive-in chain. "We'd like to help in the process." Hawkins and others also suggested the city "grandfather" existing drive-ins into the updated code. In fall 1999, the council discussed how the tiny coffee stores fit in with city codes but took no action. Last summer, local restaurateurs asked the council to take a second look at the issue. Technically, the shed-like stands are temporary, portable structures. That excuses the stands from more stringent planning standards and certain fees, including system development charges and property taxes. Critics say the rub comes when the "mobile food units" stay in one location, typically a parking lot, for years. Because the coffee carts rarely leave their sites, the owners should be made to foot some of the same costs as a regular store, critics contend. That includes system development fees for sewers, storm drains, streets and other city services, they say. As directed by the council, a committee will review current city codes and propose changes within three months. Reach reporter Jessica Smith at 776-4481, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.