For the second consecutive meeting, the Bloomington City Council chose to postpone voting on a new ordinance regulating food trucks and mobile food vendors. With support from the administration, the council unanimously voted to delay voting on the ordinance until the first ?quarter of next year.
“I feel very strongly that there are additional issues that have arisen during this discussion that are sort of are beyond what even staff could have foreseen,” council member Andy Ruff said after motioning to defer the vote.
Food vendors attending the meeting sat silent, even after two proposals of public comment.
Delaying the vote causes a restart of legislation with introductory first readings, subsequent meetings and a new ordinance number, council president Darryl Neher said.
The ordinance creates operating rules for food trucks and mobile vendors working in the city. Under the ordinance, they may not operate less than 50 feet from the facade or outdoor seating of a brick-and-mortar restaurant. They cannot park in city spots without permission from the Board of Public Works and are prohibited from operating on the B-Line Trail. These businesses may operate 24 hours a day on private property. They are prohibited from operating on public property between 4:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. and would be enforced with all other rules by officers hired by the city.
“There were a variety of amendments that many members wanted to introduce,” council member Stephen Vollo said in expressing agreement to delay the vote.
Those amendments include creating regulations for the food trucks and mobile vendors to abide by sound ordinances, specifically how loud the vendors’ generators would be allowed to run. At previous meetings, it was proposed that generators be no louder than 70 decibels at four feet, but was rejected after the council could not agree on whether or not that was an acceptable level of sound.
“I would like to explore the idea of pods,” council member Susan Sandberg said in reference to public areas where all food trucks could be parked, another revision to the ordinance the council has suggested at previous meetings, to which food truck vendors have agreed.
Another ordinance regarding permits for food trucks and mobile vendors was also up for vote. The council chose to strike down the ordinance. Now, passing permit regulations would cause other types of businesses whose ?definitions are removed and replaced with food truck and mobile vendors in the first ordinance, to be regulated.
When proposed next year, the votes on the regulations must take place by ?March 2015.
