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Applicant Qing Chen requested a special use permit to create a permanent mobile food park off I-35 in Georgetown, with plans for six vendors, parking and restrooms.
Georgetown City Council gave preliminary approval for the food truck park, with restrictions to ensure code compliance.
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SUPs allow for developments outside typical proposals, and also let council members shape the project to the city’s preferred specifications, according to city documents.
The permit request has specific requirements for it to move forward, including hiring a mobile food park manager, code compliance and utility connection, restrooms with potable water and electricity, and ensuring driver safety.
The property is currently zoned under the commercial C1 and C3 categories, which allow for certain types of stores and recreation facilities for local and general use. A building on the property has been vacant for the last five years, officials said, but used to operate as a restaurant.
Digging deeper
Georgetown City Planner Preston Gunn said the Planning and Zoning Commission added the clause for a restroom with potable water and electricity to avoid having portable toilets at the site.
“A simple porta potty is a little bit of an eyesore, [and] would be more typical of a construction site,” Gunn said. “By adding that condition, they’re hoping for a nicer restroom that's locked.”
He also clarified that if the vacant building receives a new tenant, then the mobile food park would no longer be allowed to operate.
What they’re saying
Michael Price, an advocate for the applicant, said he hopes the food truck park will enhance the surrounding area and allow for a new tenant to move into the vacant building as a brick-and-mortar restaurant or a community gathering space.
“[The building has] just been sitting there,” Price said. “[The] end goal would be that hopefully [the food trucks] would help activate that in the long run.”
What’s next
The project will need to receive final approval from council members before moving forward.
