Getting ahead of today’s Morning with the Mayor, Hayward has sent out this statement on food truck regulation:
To: City Council Members
From: Mayor Ashton Hayward
Date: January 21, 2014
Re: Food Truck Ordinance
The rise in mobile food trucks is a positive trend around the country. This is a trend I support. A 2011 study from the National Restaurant Association shows that consumers are showing increasing interest in mobile food service. Click here
Current city code does not adequately address the regulation of modern food trucks. It is better suited for addressing ice-cream, hot-dog and other traditional mobile vendors with smaller and less complex menus. Since there is only one active food truck operator in the City, the prudent path forward is to create a pilot program that would allow licensed food trucks to operate in designated areas in the City prior to enacting a specific food truck ordinance. Several cities such as New Orleans, Boulder, CO and Greensboro, NC, have used this approach in order to determine what the best policies for food trucks are. These cities have ordinances that closely reflect my viewpoint.
City staff will work with local food vendors and obtain feedback from the community in order to draft a mobile vending pilot program. After the end of the pilot program, city staff will develop rules for a possible ongoing mobile food vendor program based on interest and feedback from the vendors and the broader community. In particular, they will look at how well vendors complied with permit conditions, including trash removal, site cleanup and neighborhood quality of life.
Councilman Terhaar is to be commended for his work in bringing this issue forward and presenting ideas for a clear and understandable structure that would encourage food truck operators to open businesses in Pensacola. I support and look forward to working with Councilman Terhaar, and the entire Council, to create a program that promotes business opportunities and that reflect the standards and values of our community.
Rebecca A. McLellan
Assistant to Communications Administrator
