The Argyle Planning and Zoning Commission recommended prohibiting permanent food trucks or trailers within the town and limiting the use of temporary food trucks at the April 1 meeting.
The discussion
The planning and zoning commission recommended that mobile food vendor courts, which are permanent food trucks or trailers stationed on a property, be prohibited within town limits.
“We continue to claim that we’re trying to keep Argyle rural, and [allowing food trucks is] probably not a step toward keeping it rural,” Commissioner David Snell said.
Food trucks are only permitted in certain commercial areas with the approval of a permanent business on the property, or the host business, and a temporary site permit. The food vehicle is only allowed on the property for two days within a 60-day period.
“I wouldn’t want to see a site that is dedicated to food courts unless we intentionally wanted that to be food court central,” Commissioner Michael Udovic said. “Someone going on a property for 30 days seems extensive. If [the food truck] goes in for a day, that’s great.”
Food trucks that operate during an event, such as a business grand opening or a town-sponsored event, are exempt from the recommended rules proposed in the ordinance. Instead, those food trucks will be governed by the town's existing special event regulations, according to town documents.
More details
Per town documents, other regulations propose that temporary food trucks:
- May only operate during the opening hours of the host business
- Must be located at least 10 feet away from any permanent structure or other food vehicles
- Must be located at least 100 feet away from residential zoning districts
- Must be at least 20 feet away from the outdoor seating of any restaurant other than the host business, unless the food truck owners have written consent from that restaurant owner
- Cannot park in required parking spaces, fire lanes, dedicated easements, drive aisles, public thoroughfares or rights of way
- Must provide enough off-street parking to accommodate both the host business and the food truck
- Must have public sanitary toilets and hand-washing facilities available within 250 feet of the food truck while it is operating and the host business can provide those facilities with a written agreement
- Must have waste disposal and are responsible for the containment and removal of refuse, as well as mitigating any environmental impacts
The background
These regulations were proposed after the planning and zoning commission recommended approval of a site plan for a permanent food trailer located at 606 US 377, Argyle, at the March 4 meeting. At that time, Argyle did not have any standards to regulate food truck use.
The applicant, Akshya Foods, pulled the site plan from the Town Council’s March 23 agenda to address concerns from the fire marshal and access to US 377, Town Manager Mike Sims said.
The applicant must bring the site plan back to the planning and zoning commission for approval.
Looking ahead
Argyle Town Council will consider the planning and zoning commission’s recommendation for food truck standards at the regular meeting April 20.
