Oak Park has few restrictions on where food trucks can sell their refreshments, but that may be changing.
Oak Park’s village board heard recommendations from village staff about how it might respond to complaints from brick-and-mortar restaurant owners about mobile food vendors poaching business. The discussion had been brought forward by trustees Ravi Parakkat and Lucia Robinson.
“While I certainly am in favor of a free market, we regulate our business districts, and we do so for specific reasons,” Robinson said. “This idea of really trying not to compromise our business districts and our brick-and mortar stores is a way that this type of regulation could help.”
The discussion began with public comments from Karla Linarez, the owner of Tacos ‘76 on Madison Street, who said that her business had been disrupted when a taco truck parked a few feet from her shop’s front door. Linarez said that when she complained to the truck’s owner, they told her they weren’t breaking any rules laid out in the village code.
Linarez said the village needs to regulate mobile food vendors to protect small businesses like her’s.
“While I welcome food trucks and the diversity they bring, our brick-and-mortar businesses are the backbone of our local economy and operate under higher standards,” Linarez said. “That lack of regulation puts brick-and-mortars at a disadvantage.”
Presently, mobile food vendors do need to secure a license from the village and pass a health inspection, but there are no restrictions on where they can operate, so long as they obey parking laws, according to Village Management Analyst Noemy Diaz.
Diaz explained three potential ordinances for the bord to consider related to food trucks. One idea was to ban food trucks from operating within 250 feet of a restaurant, another would confine food trucks to residential streets by banning them from operating in any of the village’s 12 business districts and another suggestion would create special districts where mobile food vendors would be allowed to operate.
“Village staff support any of the three suggestions that the board would like to pursue,” Diaz said.
The potential ordinances would not apply to mobile food vendors participating in special village events, Diaz said.
Board members did not reach a consensus on supporting any of the recommendations, but did dig into the potential impacts of each suggestion, and gave feedback on how the staff could tailor the suggestions to meet business owner’s specific concerns. Edited recommendations will be brought sometime after a new village board is seated on May 6.
“What we’ve done is help frame the discussion,” said Village Manager Kevin Jackson. “What we’re looking for is feedback from the board, so that we can bring something back that is responsive of all the board’s interests.”
Trustee Brian Straw said the board needs to make sure that any ordinance the village adopts balances making things fair for brick-and-mortar businesses with maintaining an environment where mobile food vendors can still earn a living in Oak Park.
“I think there’s a balance to be found, because I know there’s a lot of brick-and-mortar restaurants that were able to make those brick-and-mortar dreams come true because they started with a food truck,” Straw said. “I want to make sure we’re finding balance with the lightest touch possible that also protects the absolutely vital small business community that we have.”