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ASK THE AUTHOR j
<br />Go online during the month of September to participate
<br />in our "Ask the Author" forum, an interactive feature of
<br />Zoning Practice. Rodney Arroyo, AICP, and Jill Bahm, AICP,
<br />will be available to answer questions about this article.
<br />Go to the APA website at www.planhing.org and follow the
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<br />About the Auth . -
<br />Rodney Arroyo, AICP, is president of Clearzoning, Inc. He holds a Master of City
<br />Planning degree from Georgia Tech and has more than 3o years' expertise in
<br />planning and transportation. His experience includes master plans, zoning
<br />ordinances, form -based codes, corridor studies, and access management plan
<br />Arroyo also serves as an expert witness in planning and zoning issues, is a
<br />national and state planning award winner, and serves as an adjunct professor
<br />for Wayne State University's graduate urban planning program.
<br />Jill Bahm, AICP, is a principal planner with Clearzoning, Inc. She holds a Master
<br />of Urban and Regional Planning degree and has worked in both the public and
<br />private sectors as a downtown development authority director, city planner,
<br />and real estate marketing professional. Bahm's professional interests include
<br />economic development, recreation planning, historic preservation, community
<br />participation, and organizational development.
<br />suppliers and owners —will take place in Port-
<br />land, Oregon.
<br />On the worldwide stage, the World Street
<br />Food Congress is the first of its kind to connect
<br />and open up fresh ideas and thought leadership
<br />in the massive and growing street -food culture
<br />and industry throughout the world. This io -day
<br />street -food festival was hosted in Singapore in
<br />January 2013 and featured well -known leaders
<br />in the food industry (www.wsfcongress.com).
<br />Faced with inquiries from food vendors,
<br />many communities turn to their zoning codes,
<br />only to discover that mobile food vending isn't
<br />really defined and may not be permitted in the
<br />way vendors might like. With the approach to
<br />regulating mobile vending varying widely in
<br />communities, it can be hard to know where to
<br />begin when considering if and how to accom-
<br />modate food trucks.
<br />WHAT IS MOBILE FOOD VENDING?
<br />Regulatory codes for many communities rec-
<br />ognize transient merchants —those goods and
<br />services provided by a traveling vendor. The
<br />typical ice cream truck would be a good example
<br />of a transient merchant who is mobile most of
<br />the time, stopping only when requested for a
<br />few short minutes. Many operators of today's
<br />food trucks or carts, however, are seeking more
<br />than a few minutes on the street, sidewalk, or
<br />parking lot, staying in place for a few hours to
<br />serve breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In fact, when
<br />they are located on private property, some food
<br />trucks may be in one location for days, weeks,
<br />or even months. It is important to make a dis-
<br />tinction between the food vendors that are more
<br />transient in nature, like an ice cream truck, and
<br />those that seek to move about less frequently.
<br />Both types of uses can offer benefits to the com-
<br />munity, and they will each have different poten-
<br />tial issues to regulate.
<br />Many mobile food vendors utilize
<br />self - driven vehicles that permit easy reloca-
<br />tion throughout the community. However,
<br />mobile food vending also includes trailers,
<br />food kiosks, and food carts. Food kiosks are
<br />temporary stands or booths that are typically
<br />intended to sell prepared foods, including ice
<br />cream, pretzels, and the like. Food kiosks may
<br />be found inside a large office building or shop-
<br />ping mall, but may also be secured for outside
<br />use. Some communities, like Maui County,
<br />Hawaii, allow a variety of products to be sold
<br />at a kiosk, provided certain standards are met
<br />( §3o.o8.o3o). While temporary in structure,
<br />food kiosks are often stationary with a defined
<br />location. Food carts allow the vendor to sell
<br />from outside the moveable unit and are often
<br />used to sell fresh fruits and vegetables. Typi-
<br />cally, the food in kiosks and carts is prepared
<br />elsewhere and kept cold or hot in the unit.
<br />The city of New York encourages "green carts"
<br />that offer fresh produce in certain areas of the
<br />city and has special regulations for these uses
<br />(www.nyc.gov /greencarts).
<br />In communities across the U.S., mobile
<br />food vendors are seeking permits to start these
<br />innovative businesses. They often run into road-
<br />blocks at city hall, because while many zoning
<br />ordinances include provisions for temporary
<br />uses, most do not contain current definitions
<br />for mobile food vending nor do they include any
<br />standards that specifically relate to vending and
<br />the issues that may arise. The net result in many
<br />communities, intentional or unintentional, is a
<br />prohibition on mobile food vending.
<br />THE PROS AND CONS OF MOBILE
<br />FOOD VENDING
<br />Over the past few years, most of the economy
<br />has been struggling and the workforce has been
<br />challenged to adapt. With laid -off workers try-
<br />ing to reinvent themselves and new immigrants
<br />looking for opportunities, the number of people
<br />starting new businesses is rising. Mobile food
<br />vending seems, for some, like a low -cost way to
<br />wade into the pool of business ownership. There
<br />are a number of reasons why communities may
<br />elect to sanction mobile food vending:
<br />• It provides an opportunity to increase jobs
<br />and businesses. The cost of starting a food truck
<br />business can start at $25,000, where a tradition-
<br />al bricks - and -mortar establishment may start at
<br />$300,000, according to the National Restaurant
<br />Association (Emergent Research 2012).
<br />• It offers opportunities to provide food choic-
<br />es where zoning precludes restaurants. Tradi-
<br />tional zoning codes tend to restrict the uses
<br />permitted in office and industrial districts, only
<br />allowing uses that narrowly meet the intent of
<br />those districts. Office and industrial parks, in
<br />particular, are often isolated from the rest of
<br />the community, requiring employees to drive to
<br />retail and restaurant areas. In addition, some
<br />communities may not have access to variety of
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