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Tulsa, OK
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Lexington,
KY
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Raleigh, NC
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San Diego,
CA
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General Questions
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1.
How
long have your regulations related to mobile food units been in place?
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About 30 years. Current regulations
adopted Nov 1, 2011
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Health Regs in place for decades.
Modifications to zoning, licensing enacted in 2013.
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Since 2011.
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We expect our Ordinance to finally
be effective September 15, 2014.
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2.
How
many mobile food units have registered/licensed in your community?
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140; 24 mobile indoor pushcarts, 31
mobile outdoor pushcarts, 91 mobile vehicles
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Unknown, maintained by County Health
Dept.
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42
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About 500
units within the County. (County Health Dept)
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3.
Who
is responsible for inspecting the mobile food unit to insure that proper food
safety measures are followed and the mobile food unit is sanitary and safe?
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Tulsa Health
Department
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County Health
Department.
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Wake County
Health Department (same as for restaurants)
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The County of
San Diego issues health permits and performs health inspections. Food trucks
are required to post a letter grade health rating like brick and mortar
restaurants.
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4.
What
do you see as the benefits to having mobile food units in your community?
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Provide opportunity for new
business, employment; added services to areas & events; add activity and
excitement to urban places.
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Vibrant Food and Street Activity;
potential for start up businesses.
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The community
seems to enjoy them and they generate huge crowds at their “Roadeos”.
They also help support other community events by making food and beverages
available to the crowd.
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Innovative
food options and small business opportunities in the food industry that are
more attainable than a start-up restaurant.
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5.
Are
there any changes you feel would make the regulations more effective, or
easier to implement?
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Communicate early with mobile
vendors, brick-and-mortar restaurants / stakeholders.
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No
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Our
regulations are too new to evaluate. We plan to reevaluate after a year.
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6.
Have
you had any complaints or issues with mobile food units?
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Noise (generators); lights
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Yes:
Some operators are not abiding by our limits on hours of operation and are
operating into the night beyond the legal time frame.
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Yes, this is
the reason we decided to pursue a code amendment and to incorporate new
provisions into our zoning code. We wanted to make the regulations clear and
provide opportunities for mobile food vending on private property and in the
public r-o-w.
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7.
Have
you identified any specific enforcement issues with mobile food units?
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Locating mobiles that aren’t
operating on a set route; ensuring that mobiles are returning to designated
commissary every 12 hours for clean-up and wastewater disposal; units that
operate without adequate food safety training or facilities; mobiles that
improperly dispose of wastewater; mobiles that prepare food in an unlicensed
facility; and ability to conduct site plan reviews.
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No
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Enforcement
of the regulations on mobile businesses is much more difficult than applying
regulations to regular activity at a fixed location.
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8.
Now
that you have mobile food units in your community, what is your overall
opinion of them? Anything you would have done differently?
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They help add vibrancy, sense of
place and a reason for people to come/live/visit downtown.
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They haven’t
been a big problem and the community seems to embrace them. We did
modify our regulations about a year into their operation to allow for more
trucks to operate at a given location.
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We have a
long history of mobile food units in our City, which have existed regardless
of whether or not the City had regulations on the books to allow them. Food
trucks are very popular here.
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9.
Have
you had any cases of food poisoning that was linked to a mobile unit? If so,
how easy was it to determine the cause?
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The Health Dept has not received any
cases that have been epidemiologically linked. We have had complaints
regarding possible FBI cases, but nothing that has been confirmed.
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Unknown.
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No reported
food poisonings that we are aware of.
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Code Specific Questions
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1.
Do
your regulations limit the amount of time a mobile food unit may be in one
location? (If so, what is the restriction?)
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No.
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County Health Dept limits the use to
no more than 14 consecutive days per permit.
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No
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Max of 3 days/week in Commercial
Zones
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2.
Is
there any restriction on the type of food that is offered?
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No, must meet food requirements of
the Health Department.
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Depends upon availability of water,
etc.
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No
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Yes, sell only food/beverage items
regulated under the California Retail Food Code.
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3.
Do
your regulations allow the food to be prepared in the food truck or are they
limited to pre-packaged foods?
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May be
prepared in the truck.
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Depends upon
availability of water, etc.
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May be
prepared in the truck.
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Yes.
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4.
Does
the code require the mobile food units to be mobile and be able to be moved,
even when remaining in one location for an extended period of time?
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All mobile
food service establishments are required to report daily to a commissary to
dispose of wastewater, refill with water, service the unit, and stock up
(OAC310:257-17-2,3,5,6)
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No.
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No.
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5.
Where
are mobile food units allowed to park/operate? (Certain parts of town,
private property, right-of-way, specific zoning districts?)
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Restricted to industrial,
commercial, business, and parking districts.
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On private property, same zoning
category as brick and mortar restaurants; on public right-of-way, in certain
areas and with additional restrictions.
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Limited to location on a lot with a
principal structure or use. Permitted in a range of zoning districts, not in
residential.
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Industrial, Commercial and
Multi-Dwelling (With Neighborhood Use Permit) Districts and Centre City
Planned District Zone. Ordinance lists areas where due to the density of
development, food trucks are not permitted in the r-o-w for safety reasons.
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6.
Do
you have any restrictions on operating hours? Are mobile food units allowed
to operate in districts at night after the restaurants close in areas that
would be considered entertainment districts or areas that bars predominate?
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Yes, restricted per type of
business. (Planning Note: Not able to find any restrictions in the Code.)
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Yes, Per City Code hours are limited
to 7AM to 11PM but may operate later if a permanent business on the site is
open to the public later, may operate till that business is closed. A ‘pilot
program’ has been established to allow a 6 month trial period for food trucks
on public property.
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Between 6AM and 3AM unless the
designated location is within 150’ of property line of single- or two-unit
dwelling, in that case hours are limited to between 7AM and 10 PM.
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Did not find any limitation in the
Code.
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7.
Do
you limit the density of mobile food units (the number permitted per specific
area)?
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No.
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No.
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Max of 2 food trucks on lots of ˝
acre or less;
Max of 3 food trucks on lots between
˝ and 1 acre;
Max of 4 food trucks on lots greater
than 1 acre.
Outdoor seating areas associated
w/food trucks permitted on lots 2 acres or more.
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1 food tuck may operate on the site
for every 525 sq ft paved area of at least 35’ x 15’.
Food trucks greater than 27’ in
length require a space at least 70 ft x 15’
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8.
Do
you have a specific setback from property lines or from adjacent residential
property lines?
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No.
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No.
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No.
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9.
Have
you applied any restrictions related to competition between mobile units and
brick and mortar restaurants? (For example, no food truck within 500 ft of a
restaurant serving a similar type food.)
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Yes. Currently 150 ft, 300 ft is
being proposed.
Currently not permitted:
1. Within 150’ of a public or private school grounds during the
hours of regular school session, except when authorized in writing by said
school; or
2. Within 150’ of the entrance to a business establishment which
is open for business and is offering for sale the same or similar product as
an item offered for sale by the mobile vendor unless
authorized in writing by the stationary business establishment; or
3. Within 150’ of a restaurant, cafe or eating establishment
which is open for business unless authorized in writing by the stationary
business establishment; or
4. Within 150’ of a public park of the City where a City authorized
concession stand is located during times other than during the course of a
public celebration except as approved by the City; or
5. Within 150’ of City property where a City authorized
concession stand is located during the course of a public celebration when
nonprofit organizations are permitted to engage in the sale of merchandise
and food at such property; or
6. Within 150’ of the location for which a special event permit
has been issued during the time specified from the start through completion
of the special event.
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No.
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Must be located at least 100’ from
the main entrance to any eating est., 100’ from outdoor dining area, and 50’
from permitted food cart location.
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Throughout the process, the question
of fairness has been raised, particularly by small businesses in commercial
areas. A common request was for the City to adopt a 75 ft separation distance
from restaurant entrances (similar to San Francisco) and/or a requirement for
food trucks to pay a fee with their business tax that would allow them access
to operate in business improvement districts. The City Attorney identified
legal concerns with those options.
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10. Do you feel
the mobile food units have had an impact on the permanent restaurants in the
area?
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Minimal once separation standards
were established. In the Downtown area they bring more people to the Brady
Arts District; may introduce people who return for other reasons.
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There is still local controversy on
certain aspects of the matter, especially as to use of the public
right-of-way, impact on brick and mortar restaurants, and similar questions.
All in all, food trucks have been well-received, even by brick and mortar
restaurants, when they are located on private property in appropriate zones.
Issues arrive primarily when mobile food units seek to use public
rights-of-way or seek ordinance amendments to permit them to operate in
zoning categories where brick and mortar restaurants are not permitted such
as office zones and agricultural zones.
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11. How are food
trucks/mobile food units permitted? (license, site plan, special event
permit, Special use permit)
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Permitting includes City of Tulsa
and Tulsa city County Health Department including licenses, site plans for
special/seasonal categories,
Site plan expires annually.
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Each food truck requires a license,
unless the owner of property applies to Planning to have the property used on
a regular basis by 1 or more mobile food units with a Zoning Compliance
Permit:
1. Zoning
Compliance Permit, valid for 2 years, includes a site plan & must meet these
requirements:
a.
Minimum
required parking maintained—no new spaces required for the mobile unit.
b.
Location
allows for proper vehicle and pedestrian circulation,
c.
Site’s
zoning permits ‘restaurant’ use
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Food Truck Permit, Zoning Permit
required to be located on a site,
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County Health permit and business
tax certificate. Health Permit must be posted. No City permit required when
in r-o-w, but is required on private property. Property owners must obtain a
permit to host food trucks on private property, except for industrial zones
or for catering a private event.
(The permit holder-property owner-
is responsible for ensuring the food trucks comply with Code.)
Permit may be revoked if violated
and not immediately corrected.
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