Tuesday, September 10, 2024
By Angie Landsverk
The city of Waupaca now has an ordinance for regulating food trucks.
The ordinance went into effect on Wednesday, July 15.
The common council approved it by a vote on 8-1 when it met on July 7.
Ald. Paul Mayou voted against it, and Ald. Steve Hackett was absent that evening.
“I still think 150 feet is too short,” Mayou said.
He was referring to the part of the ordinance related to how close food trucks are allowed to be from a licensed restaurant during its kitchen hours.
Under the approved ordinance, a food truck may not sell within 150 feet of a restaurant’s front door – during its kitchen hours – without the owner’s written permission.
Prior to the council vote, Mayou made a motion to change the distance requirement to 100 yards.
That was the distance council members agreed on in early March, when the original draft went before it.
The first draft had a distance requirement of 500 feet in the parks and 150 feet from licensed restaurants.
Council members wanted a uniform distance requirement and agreed on 100 yards, but then switched back to the idea of 150 feet in June.
Mayou’s July 7 motion died due to a lack of a second.
The approved ordinance notes “permission to be on private property does not supersede this distance rule.”
Food trucks may also not be within 150 feet of any city park when there is a shelter rental agreement approved by the Parks and Recreation Department, or where the city operates a food stand or mobile food concession.
A license is required to operate a food truck in the city, and may be obtained from the city clerk.
The fee is $100, and the license year is Jan. 1 through Dec. 31.
The process also includes a background check by Waupaca’s police department and inspection by its fire department.
Applicants pay $12 per background check on each employee and $25 for the fire inspection.
There was a public hearing on the ordinance prior to the July 7 council meeting.
Eric Vestergaard was the only person who spoke during it.
He owns Sulten Belly at 220 S. Main St.
Vestergaard voiced concerns about some parts of the ordinance.
One was private businesses putting pop-up businesses in parking lots of other businesses at any time, when they do not have to do what brick and mortar businesses have to do.
Two weeks ago, a food truck from Portage County parked in a private lot across from his restaurant.
Vestergaard said it was parked there when his restaurant was open.
Under the approved ordinance, that food truck owner would now need Vestergaard’s permission to park there when Sulten Belly is open.
Vestegaard wants to see food trucks follow the same licensing, fees, codes he has to follow, and suggested they park in more public places like parks.
He said he supports local businesses, but does not see a food truck from Stevens Point as being very local.
The ordinance was on its first reading on July 7.
Mayor Brian Smith reminded the council it had the right to waive the reading and vote on the second reading that night.
Otherwise, the second reading was planned for July 21.
Smith said he brought up that fact for a couple reasons.
The council had been discussing the proposal for some time, he said.
“We have nothing right now, and it is the food truck time of year,” Smith said. “If we find that 150 feet is too much or too little, we can look at it after this summer. We need to get something on the books.”
