An ordinance laying out rules for mobile food trucks was approved by the Peachtree City Planning Commission at its Oct. 22 meeting.
But the commission is recommending that food trucks be limited to those operated by restaurants that already exist in the city, which might defeat the purpose of the food truck initiative. Food trucks are a nationwide trend as a way to offer food in a given area that may not currently be offered by traditional restaurants.
Food trucks must pass health inspections just like other restaurants, but the city’s proposed rules deal more with operational guidelines. Jimmy Daniel of the Grazing Here food truck wants to have a location in the city where several food trucks can serve at one time on specific days of the week.
The proposed rules, which will be finalized by the city council at an upcoming meeting, would require all food trucks to obtain an annual vendor permit from the city, and they would be limited to selling from certain city-approved sites and also at city-sponsored events.
Each food truck will be required to provide proof of a $1 million liability insurance policy that protects the vendor the public and the city from damage, property and injury claims.
City staff have proposed to limit mobile food trucks to properties that are zoned general commercial, office institutional, light industrial and general industrial. Also, each vendor site would be allowed to be open no more than two days each week for a maximum of six hours each day.
Property owners must also file an application to provide a mobile food truck vendor site which includes restrictions on access, proximity to fire hydrants and the distance from the nearby road.
The ordinance also forbids mobile food trucks from using flashing or blinking lights and requires all signs to be permanently affixed to the food truck except for a portable menu board, which cannot be located between the truck and the adjacent road.
The food trucks will also be required to provide at least one trash container for public use and they must serve their food on single-serve items such as plastic utensils and paper plates. The trucks must also use only self-contained power and also use a reverse gear signal alarm for the protection of anyone nearby when it is going backwards.
