On Aug. 28, Cedar Park City Council heard city staffers' recommendations for ordinances that would permit mobile food vendors in the city.

Planning Manager Amy Link said her department proposes new laws that would establish semi-stationary food vendors and transient food vendors. Currently the Cedar Park ordinances allow only two types of vendors: one for roadside sellers and one for seasonal vendors such as snow cone stands located near existing businesses.

Link said semi-stationary vendors would be required to stay in one place, be associated with an existing restaurant and set up only in non-residential areas. Transient vendors such as ice cream trucks or snack stands would move from place to place, she said.

Each type of vendor would also need Williamson County and Cities Health District permits.

Staffers began researching food vendor options after local businesses asked for them, Link said.

In July, Place 2 Councilman Corbin Van Arsdale informally surveyed residents by email; most residents said they favored the city allowing mobile food vendors. The Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce surveyed local restaurant owners, most of whom said they would prefer the city promote a central food vendor court instead of allowing vendors across the city. However, city staffers' current proposals do not necessarily contemplate such a food court, Link said.

Rick Redmond, owner of Lone Star Grille & Bubba's Backyard, said he hopes to add a mobile food vendor to his restaurant on New Hope Road. Lone Star Grille could later add a larger food court attraction within a fenced area. But the county health department requires the added trailer to hook up to the restaurant's utilities, despite not having its own kitchen, Redmond said.

"We're trying to get something open as fast as possible because we're dealing with [crowd] issues on the weekends," Redmond said. "Being that I thought I already had a commercial zone property, I didn't understand why I couldn't open [a mobile food trailer] up anyway."

Place 3 Councilman Lyle Grimes asked how the city would collect taxes on mobile vendors, who could drive to Cedar Park from Austin, do their business but report income only in Austin.

Cedar Park Director of Finance Joseph Gonzales said the city can track semi-stationary vendors.

"We're familiar with the city," he said. "If we see them, we'll expect taxes."

But the city would have more difficulty tracking and taxing transient vendors who set up their vehicles temporarily near construction sites or pass through neighborhoods, Gonzales said.

Mayor Matt Powell said the city could audit transient food vendors.

Powell added that the city's potential allowance of more mobile food vendors could encourage entrepreneurs to turn a thriving mobile business into a full upscale restaurant. Or vendors may not show interest in operating in the city—similar to a mobile vendor ordinance passed by Round Rock City Council after which vendors showed little interest, Powell said.

"I'm presuming that whatever [food vendor ordinance] this council passes is probably going to be altered at some point," Powell said.

City staffers are still researching food vendor options and City Council has not scheduled votes on mobile vendor permit ordinances.