Galesburg alderman had an ordinance on first reading last night that would expand where licensed food trucks can operate in the city.
The only real question from council was how does this measure weigh the interests of food trucks with the more stationary brick and mortar restaurants.
Alderman Jeremy Karlin questioned how much input brick and mortar restaurant owners had in drafting the ordinance’s language.
City Attorney Brad Nolden said administration met with both brick and mortar and food truck owners and concerns from parties have been incorporated.
Two men involve in the drafting of the ordinance, who represent the separate interests that would most directly be affected, spoke on behalf of the resolution.
Phil Dickinson owns the Landmark Cafe and Phil Hennenfent owns a relatively new food truck, Henn House Barbecue.
Dickinson saying he also speaks on behalf on seven downtown eateries that allowed him to be their proxy says there may not be a perfect “food truck ordinance” but this one is “very good.”
“[The] concept is food trucks right now.. they have to be a hobby, or they have to have their own personal property, or the forbearance of somebody who’s willing to lend them property, and sometimes that’s not always on the best traffic path.” Dickinson said. “This gives them the best opportunity to have a life.”
Those zones include the town square, parking lots H and G downtown and many city parks, with varying hours.
Nolden says they’ve tried to establish zones for food trucks on public property that are far enough away from restaurants but are close enough to heavy traffic areas to get business. “Food truck operators want to be somewhere where there’s traffic they want to be somewhere where people are, so they can get that walk-up traffic,” said Nolden.
The ordinance is expected to get a vote at the next regularly scheduled council meeting.
