QuoteAfter spending five minutes on the phone with Councilman Reggie Brown on Tuesday evening, Matt Lennon of The Loving Cup was almost certain that a food truck ordinance that would have meant bigger restrictions would be withdrawn.
Still, Lennon, as well as several food truck owners and members of Jacksonville's food truck scene, sat through an hour of the City Council meeting, waiting for confirmation.
It's the kind of battle that food truck owners are used to in Jacksonville. City Council approved legislation that expanded food trucks' rights slightly in July 2014, when it passed an ordinance that required food trucks to operate 50 feet away from brick-and-mortar restaurants, in addition to getting necessary permits from the city. Before that, food trucks faced stricter regulations on where they could operate.
It was a change that food truck owners accepted, reluctantly.
"It kept brick-and-mortars happy and food trucks content," Lennon said.
The new ordinance, which was put forward by Councilman Brown last week, would have required food trucks in Downtown to be 50 feet away from a restaurant's property lines. If food trucks were closer than 50 feet, they would have been required to get written permission of the restaurant.
That would have particularly affected food trucks operating in strip malls and shopping plazas or even at The Landing, who could have easily be shut down by one restaurant's veto. Lennon said getting access to landlords would also be difficult.
"We would have to get written permission from the landlord," Lennon said. "The problem is the landlord isn't always in town."
It likely won't be the end for more regulations – or, at the very least, more ordinances – for food trucks. Councilman Brown said the bill wasn't ready for public comment, and it's not clear when, or if, a new ordinance will be introduced.
Councilman Brown also introduced the legislation regulating food trucks in 2014.
Lennon said the root of the problem is a misunderstanding of what food trucks do, as well as an over-saturation of the market. Brick-and-mortar restaurants also face competition from food trucks and sometimes rally against them.
"There are people who don't know what we are. There are people that don't understand food trucks," Lennon said.
Lennon said he expects more changes for food trucks in the future – but it's a dialogue he'd like to participate in.
He also said he would like to see more access for food trucks, which are "stifled" by the legislation in place.
"I would like to be able to be in city parks and pull up at meters," he said. "That's what I'd like to see happen – but that's an ideal scenario."
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