I just got back from The Special Joint Meeting of the City of Minneapolis’ Regulatory, Energy & Environment and Transportation & Public Works Committees meeting on allowing food trucks in Minneapolis. First, It’s great to see some democracy in action. I’m not sure everything said was appreciated by members of the committee (there was one especially bored member who spent a lot of time looking sleepy and fidgeting in his chair), and the place was packed. A lot of people are interested in this issue. There were a lot of good things said about the proposed licencing changes, but as a whole I think that the proposal is a watered-down version of what could be a great change for the city a whole.
Some highlights of the meeting and proposed changes:
-The city is talking about food trucks. This is definitely a good sign for the future of eating in Minneapolis.
-Many of the Councilpersons are receptive to the idea, and I think that we’ll be hearing a lot more from them and other members of the restaurant community.
-Jason Adkins, of the Institute for Justice, made some great points on how the proposed changes will prevent many people from attaining the permits available.
Now for the lowlights:
-The proposed license changes will only allow food trucks in the Downtown Improvement District (DID), thusly limiting the expanse of where these trucks can operate.
-There will be a lot of limits on the operators of the food trucks, including where they can operate (they must submit a location with their application and be approved by the adjacent property owner), hours of operation (9 am to 10 pm), there will be a limit of one food truck per parking lot, and only 25 permits will be given out this year.
-Permits will be given out on a first come, first served basis. Councilman Schiff pointed out that this could lead to people camping outside the permit office for days before applications are accepted, and then could theoretically be given to 25 hot dog vendors, to which Linda Roberts and Doug Crest (the presenters today) couldn’t really give a good response.
-Any applicant must already have a licenced food operation in the City of Minneapolis (any other city’s licensing is not accepted), therefore locking out any one who doesn’t already have a restaurant/catering company/etc in the city.
-There are a lot of issues that current business owners in the DID have with these changes. There is obviously concern about losing business, but also frustrations that these business owners are spending thousands of dollars per month on rent and taxes, and a food truck (which only needs about $1000 for licensing and probably a few hundred per month in insurance) can roll in and make gobs of money.
All in all, it was good to hear people at City Hall talking about changing the zoning regarding food trucks, but as the changes stand, I feel like it’s a watered down version of what could be a great change for Minneapolis’s food scene, as well as adding more civic pride. Many of the stipulations of the changes seem poorly thought out, and seem to only benefit downtown Minneapolis and existing business owners.
Councilman Lilligren made the point that (I’m paraphrasing here) that he’s excited about the proposed changes, but the proposal as it stands needs to be revisited. I have to agree. I feel like the changes need to be broader, allowing less geographic restriction, letting more individuals access to the licenses (which there should be more of), and making the application process more democratic.
The full text of the proposed changes can be found here. I highly recommend that we all contact our Councilpersons and weigh in on this topic. Do it for the city, do it for entrepreneurs, but do it mostly because I want to walk out of the Knight Cap at 1 AM and buy a taco from some dude on the street.
