Durham City Council members are reassuring food truck lovers that proposed new rules aren’t meant to quash the Bull City’s mobile eateries. (See the rules here.)
The rules go to a public meeting 5:30 p.m. Monday in Durham City Hall. Among other things, trucks would be banned within 100 feet of a restaurant entrance without the restaurant owner’s permission. Second, trucks could be banned around Durham Central Park, including when the Durham Farmers Market meets Wednesdays and Saturdays.
In an email, City Councilman Mike Woodard reassured one constituent “the intent of the proposed ordinance is not to ‘overregulate’ food trucks.” Rather, the city has received some complaints about street vendors, not just food trucks. “This ordinance is our staff's first attempt to address these concerns while not destroying the unique business opportunities and culture that have come about as a result of food trucks,” he said.
City Councilman Steve Schewel agreed. Last Saturday he bought tomatoes and peaches at the Farmers Market and enjoyed a fried green tomato burger from the Only Burger truck.
“None of us on the council wants to do anything that will be detrimental to Durham's food truck culture,” Schewel wrote on a local listserv. “I feel certain that a reasonable accommodation can be worked out that will be fair and beneficial to everyone.”
