After a short time down for some remodeling, the Los Alamitos McDonald’s restaurant will be reopening next week, according to an article at Shelley Henderson’s OC Breeze website.

What is interesting is that in another bit of wisdom that only they will ever understand, the Los Alamitos City Council turned down in 1971 the construction of a McDonald’s at Los Alamitos and Florista because a golden arches establishment didn’t qualify as a restaurant under the city code.

Here is the News-Enterprise report from their September 9, 1971 issue.  It was a front page story.

McDonald’s Rejected for Downtown LosAl

Los Alamitos City Council turned down an application for a McDonald’s at Los Alamitos Blvd. and Florista St.  The vote was 4-0, with Councilman Charles Long, who owns property across the street, abstaining.  The council decision upholds the recommendation of the Planning Commission.

Grounds for denying the application was that McDonald’s does not qualify as a “restaurant,” a  usage permitted by the R&D (retail business) zone.  According to the Council’s interpretation, to qualify as a restaurant a facility must provide service to its customers as well as to provide a product.

Councilmen expressed fears that a McDonald’s in that location might cause a “proliferation”of “fast food” services in the area, to the detriment of development of the key “downtown” property.

Tags: McDonalds