Foodies looking to get their grub on the go, and perhaps expand their pallette at the same time, will get their wish. Rules allowing mobile food trucks were approved by the Peachtree City Council Thursday night.
Council decided against adopting a requirement suggested by the planning commission which would have limited mobile food trucks to being operated by existing city restaurants only.
The city has already had a limited number of local mobile food trucks in operation, some of which are used for special events and others that have been operated at the Peachtree City Farmer’s Market.
All mobile food trucks have to follow Georgia food safety and health protection regulations.
The rules adopted by the city 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.
Mobile food trucks would be limited to properties that are zoned general commercial, office institutional, light industrial and general industrial. That means that food trucks would not be allowed to operate on city streets, recreational areas and residential neighborhoods, according to city staff.
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.
With an eye on making sure the food trucks don’t hurt existing restaurants, the matter will be revisited with a report from city staff in nine months. No one opposed the ordinance but one local business owner suggested that businesses with existing food permits and business licenses be allowed to waive their fee for a food truck service permit.
