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As Lexington approaches the two-year anniversary of the formation of an Itinerant Merchant Task Force, there’s been a flurry of new activity surrounding the governance of Lexington’s emerging food truck scene, and tonight it hit a milestone as Lexington Fayette Urban County Council passed a resolution and the first half of an ordinance that streamlines the process governing mobile food vendors.
The Bluegrass Food Truck Association made an impassioned plea for bureaucratic relief before the Council on January 17. Vice Mayor Linda Gorton formed a Food Truck Work Group on February 1, in an effort to streamline some of the bureaucratic process.
On February 19, the Mobile Food Truck Work Group’s recommendations made it to the Economic Development Committee. The first half of the proposed ordinance drafted by CM Shevawn Akers was approved by Economic Development, and tonight was passed by Council.
Bluegrass Food Truck Association director Sean Tibbetts addressed the Council this evening:
“The leadership of Council Member Akers, and the participation of Council Members Clarke, Lawless, Farmer, and Stinnett, along with the support of the entire council — you’ve better enabled entrepreneurs and job creators to spend less time in government buildings and spend more time going to work. A resounding thank you.”
In summary, the first half of the proposed ordinance drafted by CM Akers:
- Eliminates the requirement and subsequent $15 fee for mobile food vendors to update the Division of Revenue with every address where they set up;
- Removes the requirement to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy from Building Inspection; and
- Requires business owners to obtain a free Zoning Compliance Certificate valid for two years from the Division of Zoning and Planning to ensure retail food sales are permitted in their zone.
The next Food Truck Work Group meeting will be on March 1, 2013.
(The two-year anniversary of the formation of the Itinerant Merchant Task Force will be April 20. It was formed in 2011.)
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A Taste of Ace Food Truck Archives
Bluegrass Food Truck Association Forms 4.16.2012
Food truck fans and supporters argue (accurately) that a rising tide lifts all boats — vibrant culinary corridors enhance economic development — they don’t repel it. Read more…
Will Lexington Free the Food Trucks 5.09.2012
Two of the model cities visited in recent years — college towns Madison, Wisconsin and Austin, Texas – are known for their vibrant street food culture. They have each regulated the industry differently, but have arrived at a comparable end game: streets teeming with food lovers who can appreciate everything from a $2 buck peripatetic taco to a sitdown $20 dollar cocktail, all in the same evening, all in the span of a few city blocks. Read more…
Food Trucks: Keepin’ Austin Weird 5.09.2012
Get with the program Lexington. Legalize your food trucks, and may a 1000 new businesses bloom in a sort of bluegrass version of culinary perestroika. Read more…
Second Bluegrass Food Truck Blast 6.21.2012
As the Bluegrass Food Truck Association presents the 2nd Bluegrass Food Blast this weekend, the Food Trucks in Lexington are far from free. The pilot program forecast for this summer when the Task Force began meeting a year ago is not yet in place. Food trucks in Lexington occupied a tenuous, precarious Private-Property-Only position long before the Task Force was formed, and more than a year later, they still do. Read more….
Korean Pop Up Street Food in Lexington 10.26.2012
While Lexington’s Food Truck community is growing, Pop-Ups in general are relatively new and untried here (but are catching on in markets like Detroit). And the pancakes? They tasted of what this town hopes to grow up to be. Read more…
The Year in Lexington Food 2012
Although HuffPo insists that food trucks are over and offers 12 reasons why they’ve jumped the shark (“Taco Bell, Chick-fil-A and Rachael Ray’s dog food line all have food trucks”), the battle for street eats was still one of Lexington’s biggest food stories in 2012. And it rages on, with two food trucks shut down in early December for permitting issues. Read more…
Bluegrass Food Truck Association at LFUCG 1.17.2013
Mayor Jim Gray said, “I feel like we’ve got some pretty good problem solvers in the administration,” who might be able to alleviate some of the frustration “for something that represents real creativity in our city, in my view, and it’s your passion and persistence and determination that I suspect we all appreciate.” CM Lawless requested, “When the task force has ended, and it’s all settled, would you please put flowers on my grave, because I will no longer be amongst the living,” by then. Read more…
Lexington Vice Mayor Forms new Food Truck Work Group 2.2.2013
Country Boy Brewery Celebrates First Year 2.06.2013
“We’re in the beer-making business, not the restaurant business. If food trucks park outside of our brewery and offer our customers another food choice, it’s a win-win.” Read more…
Lexington Food Trucks Make it to Ec Dev 2.19.2013
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