Langley considers new rules for food trucks

Published 4:04 pm Friday, January 16, 2015

Langley may join the hip foodie ranks of Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles and New York if the city council approves a newly proposed food truck ordinance.

City council members will have their first discussion of the ordinance at Tuesday’s 5:30 p.m. meeting. As the proposal is currently worded, a $100 license would cover the calendar year and allows food trucks to operate between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m., seven days a week. There are no existing restrictions, however, that regulate the operation of such trucks inside city limits.

Director of Community Planning Michael Davolio, who was hired earlier this month, said the upcoming council meeting will likely include talk of setting a seasonal restriction on food trucks. Perhaps between Memorial Day and Labor Day when the city sees a major increase in business activity.

“I’m aware that there’s a potential for food trucks to have an impact on existing businesses,” said Davolio, who previously worked on a temporary food truck ordinance in Rhode Island and found it to be successful. “I want to make sure that there’s a level playing field.”

A prospective food truck license holder was thrilled at the news. In November, the owner of the Lunch Box food truck spoke with Mayor Fred McCarthy about potentially setting up in the city. At the time, Langley was without a planning director but some work had been done on an ordinance to permit food trucks on city streets. Janae Cameron, who owns the Lunch Box but is probably better known as half of the Clinton-based Turnco Wood Goods, was thrilled to learn the city was considering letting mobile food businesses set up shop.

“We’d love to do it,” said Cameron, later commenting on the relatively low licensing cost for startup food vendors compared to farmers markets. 

“A hundred dollars, I think that is really reasonable,” she added.

One restaurant owner was curious about the city’s course, but wanted to see what would happen before endorsing or rejecting the inclusion of food trucks in Langley life.

“The issue for me always is we have brick-and-mortar stores and associated costs,” said Paul Sarkis, owner of Village Pizzeria. “However, food wagons are pretty popular. … Sometimes it’s almost too busy flow-wise.”

“It’s a sign of the times,” he added.

As proposed, food trucks would be confined to one of six areas in downtown. Each zone is about 200 square feet, or the equivalent of three diagonal parking spots. Five of the six zones are on Second Street, and the other is down Anthes Avenue, north of First Street toward Seawall Park.

Of the six zones identified by the city planner, he said the initial launch of the licenses may open only two: in a loading zone near US Bank and a parking space just north of Langley Park.

Parking is a concern for the city. Though Langley city leaders have maintained in the past that parking is not the problem it is often perceived to be, Davolio said when he first arrived it was hard to find a place to park in the downtown area. It can be a headache, but also a barometer for the economy.

“If there’s a demand for parking, that’s a good thing,” he said. “It means business is doing well.”

Hoping to avoid any clashes with corner setups and enterprising children, the city included an exemption for lemonade stands. They can set up shop anywhere they want.