City council overturned an administrative recommendation Tuesday and approved a drive-thru component for a proposed eating and drinking establishment at 107 Range Rd.

The approved zoning amendment ends what has been a lengthy debate that included a public hearing in which several submissions were made both supporting and opposing the drive-thru component.

Council voted on the amendment at its meeting Tuesday, with Coun. Steve Roddick registering the only opposing vote.

It’s widely believed the project proponent is the Dairy Queen franchise, though the corporate headquarters would neither confirm or deny it’s a Dairy Queen venture.

The current zoning did allow for a restaurant but not a drive-thru, as a drive-thru was not allowed under the Official Community Plan (OCP).

Prohibitions to drive-thrus along the Alaska Highway corridor date back to the 1994 OCP.

A primary concern was that allowing drive-thrus along the highway corridor would create competition for existing restaurant establishments downtown. There was concern about the additional traffic that would be exiting onto the highway.

There was also concern that allowing the drive-thru would lead to more franchises seeking to locate along the corridor.

It was recommended by administration that the drive-thru be denied until the OCP can be reviewed and rewritten, a process that is already underway.

Roddick said last night he would welcome the return of Dairy Queen as much as anybody else.

But he was opposed to making zoning amendments contrary to the OCP on an ad hoc basis.

Roddick said he is concerned about the impact on neighbourhoods and downtown businesses.

He would rather wait to see it be part of the OCP process rather than doing it now.

The councillor said he does not want to see Whitehorse become a drive-thru city like you see in other communities along the Alaska Highway.

The majority of council, however, indicated traffic concerns are not any different than what already exists at establishments downtown.

It was also noted Tuesday the initial prohibition originated 26 years ago and is now outdated, as much has changed in the city over the last 2 ½ decades.

In their submissions, supporters of the drive-thru said it would be a benefit to highway travellers, and would lessen traffic congestion downtown by reducing the number of drivers who otherwise would go downtown for their food.

It would be a benefit for the many people who work at businesses located along the corridor, supporters said.

The 1.23-hectare lot on Range Road is next to Whitehorse Toyota.

The city’s last Dairy Queen outlet, located on Second Avenue, closed in 2007.

City council did approve a drive-thru for a Kopper King property in 2016, again overturning an administrative recommendation.

The proponent was looking to increase the marketability of the property, and nothing has been built there yet.