The ordinance would increase the total number of permits for food trucks, expand the areas where they can operate and allow them to stay longer in one spot.
If there is going to be a battle over the future of food trucks in New Orleans, it could be decided as early as next week. A proposed ordinance to liberalize the rules for the mobile food vendors is slated to be discussed by a City Council committee Tuesday. If no major problems develop, the measure then could be voted on by the full council Thursday.
The ordinance would increase the total number of permits for such
trucks, expand the areas where they can operate and allow them to stay longer in one spot. It also would increase the annual fee they must pay to $600, nearly double the current figure.
Council President Stacy Head, author of the proposed ordinance, describes it as an interim measure that would be in effect for an unspecified period of time, letting officials observe its effects while they look at permanent changes to the city's 50-year-old laws governing mobile vendors.
Head has said she does not expect great opposition to her proposals, which she said have received "overwhelming support" from the restaurant industry. The Landrieu administration also has been "generally receptive" to the changes she wants to make, she said.
Paul Rotner, president of the New Orleans chapter of the Louisiana Restaurant Association, is among those scheduled to address the council's Economic Development Committee on Tuesday. He could not be reached for comment Thursday. However, Head's proposals have drawn spirited opposition from at least one Central Business District restaurant owner.
Food truck proponents say they are a relatively inexpensive way for would-be entrepreneurs to get a business started, costing perhaps $40,000 as opposed to $250,000 for a traditional restaurant. They argue that the trucks also offer a way to serve "food deserts" that have few regular restaurants, can introduce new types of cuisine to customers and can move into disaster areas almost immediately after a hurricane or other catastrophe.Head's proposal would increase the total number of available permits from 100 to 200, though that number includes all types of mobile food vendors, from fruit peddlers to Lucky Dog sellers. It would allow food trucks to set up shop in one spot for up to four hours, compared with just 45 minutes at present.
The trucks still would not be allowed in the French Quarter and Central Business District, but the size of the prohibited area would be reduced. It now stretches from the river to Claiborne Avenue and from Esplanade Avenue to Howard Avenue. The new boundaries would be from the river to the Rampart Street neutral ground and from Esplanade to Poydras Street, although the Frenchmen Street commercial section between Esplanade and Royal Street would be added.
Perhaps the most controversial change would reduce the off-limits zone around a bricks-and-mortar restaurant from 600 feet to 50 feet. Some restaurant owners fear this would create unfair competition for their establishments because the food trucks don't have to pay property taxes and can have lower overhead expenses.
Food truck proponents say strong restaurants don't need to be protected from competition. In fact, said Rachel Billow, leader of the New Orleans Food Truck Coalition, food trucks "can be very complementary to restaurants," offering items that the regular businesses do not. The owner of a restaurant could agree to waive even the 50-foot restriction.
Head's ordinance would maintain a 600-foot off-limit zone around schools and any concession operated by a booster club sanctioned by the city's recreation department. Food trucks also would be prohibited in front of residences or in any area zoned for purely residential use.
Operators breaking the rules would be subject to a $500 fine for a first offense and a one-year loss of their permit for a second violation.
Saying that restaurant owners "have made great investments in their product and have worked hard to build a following of customers in their area," the petition concludes: "To think that a food truck can soon park 50 feet from our doors and sell food during peek hours of business for 4 hours is truly concerning!!!!! This legislation should be stopped immediately!!!!!!!"
A rival petition started by the Food Truck Coalition claimed almost 1,500 signatures.