Live blogging: Beaches Watch Food Truck Forum

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Setting up here and people are trickling in... If you have any questions you want to have asked, post them up here. 

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Room is full and meeting is starting.  Ch 4 is here. 

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Few mayoral candidates are present.

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Steve Lindorff:  why don't we have food trucks in Jax Beach?  I'd be damned if I know.  Probably due to some peddlers in the 50's when code was written.  Also a section concerning selling dairy products being sold out of trucks, but that was from a time when refrigeration was a problem and it was a health issue. 

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Steve is the director of planning in Jax Beach. 

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Action News is also here.

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Steve: 
Where should food trucks be allowed?
Should operational limits be allowed?
Should there be buffers?
Should there be a limit on number of vendors?
Should we require hand washing facilities?
How will the application process be managed?
Design standards?
What is the enforcement process?

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Should there be a mobile vending zone?
What zoning districts should trucks be allowed to operate?
Allow on private property, public property or combination of both?
Should we allow food truck rallies?

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What should trigger revocation of permit?  Special magistrate?  Hold a hearing? 

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Chris Dickerson from Corner Taco. 

Currently commute two hours every day.  Would love to work near home(lives just a few blocks away).  We are restaurants just on a smaller scale.  We are more scrutinized than other restaurants.  I am in favor of being allowed to operate on private property.  Office parks love us as a benefit to their employees.  What would life be like if we only had one grocery store?  Would our life be better off, would we achieve excellence in grocery services with less competition.  At the AB/NB Corner there are 5 burger joints.  They all don't offer the same things.  They can specialize in different areas (ambience, price point, live music, quality of offering).   A good day for us is 1,000.  We are not a threat to restaurants.  Brick and mortars shouldn't have a say so.  We all win when good restaurants succeed.  Warren Buffett quote: best way to ensure your future is to be the best at what you do.  Food trucks should strive for excellence. 94percent of people buy online.  This has enhanced our lives.   Have our own niche.

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Owner of Hot Dog Hut:



It's difficult to get people into restaurants.  Restricted on signage.  On third street we have enough competition.  When food trucks can go closer to the beach, beach visitors will not walk to third street.  We enjoy what we do, being restaurant owners.  Difficult for small business to compete having to pay high rent.  We have enough competition.

To be fair, he was a late addition(within the last 10 minutes) so he did not have time to prepare correctly.

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Someone made a statement about food trucks using all of the same equipment as their fixed counterparts.

Steve: not opposed to stealing ideas from other cities.  Next step in process is to have public dialogue.  It's hard to get opinions from restaurateurs bc they are always busy serving food. 

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Chris:  lunch is the perfect service for a beach and biking community.

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Steve Lindorff is a good guy and a pretty smart planner to boot

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Jax beach wil put their peer community research online