San Angelo City Council Moves Forward on Food Truck Zoning

SAN ANGELO, TX -- San Angelo city council members Tuesday spent over an hour hammering out additions to zoning regulations for food trucks over the objections of some food truck owners.

The council was set to approve the first reading of an ordinance which would allow food trucks to operate in city parks, at churches and schools and at private residences where they are prohibited from operating under current ordinances.  Several vocal food truck owners including Tim Condon, who owns Lonestar Cheeseburger, objected to several of the provisions in the new regulations.

According to Condon, the zoning regulations as written would put him out of business because of setback requirements.  Condon says his food truck on the corner of Beauregard and S. Abe is setback 20 feet while others downtown are setback only five feet.  The new revisions would allow mobile food trucks in all commercial, manufacturing, and industrial zoning districts, as well as in residential districts subject to certain restrictions, including a maximum of four hours in a 24-hour period and at least 100 feet from homes when on church and school properties, and only four hours in a 24-hour period on apartment properties.

A food truck can operate up to 3 consecutive days on a property, but must then vacate the same location for 3 days. Requirements for mobile food trucks on public property, which included no parking within 50 feet of an operating restaurant, written permission if locating near a school, and no on-street parking within 200 feet of homes or apartments unless downtown.

Mobile food trucks wanting to operate for more than 3 days must be at the same location as their commissary and on a paved surface.

City staff maintain the new regulations would greatly expand where food trucks can operate throughout the city.  The conversation quickly strayed from zoning issues to additional requirements food trucks must follow. New this year is a requirement the each food truck drive to city hall in January to prove they are mobile.  And the permit fee went from $100 per year to $150 per year. Food truck operators in attendance Tuesday said didn’t need any additional regulations.

When the discussion ended, the council voted to approved the first reading of the new ordinance with amendments including not enforcing the ordinance for six months, adding an exclusion for ice cream trucks and changing the operating limit from 100 ft to 75 ft of an operating restaurant.  

The second reading and adoption of the new food truck ordinance is scheduled for January 22.

In other business, council members awarded a bid for 2019 seal coating to Fuquay, Inc. in the amount of $3,656,081.43.  The seal coating project includes a layer of asphalt and gravel at a cost of $2.71 per square yard for a total of 1,349,705 square yards of seal coat. The work will be primarily performed on city streets in north and west San Angelo beginning this summer.  

The 2019 seal coat project is part of an eight year plan to maintain city streets.  Fuquay Inc. hasn’t performed seal coating for San Angelo before but has been recommended by cities like Bryan, Seminole and Big Spring.  

The city council also recognized the San Angelo Independent School District Board of Trustees as part of School Board Recognition Month in Texas.