Council to Consider Zones for Food Trucks

After passing a ordinance last month that made Cranston the most food truck unfriendly city in the country, the City Council last night agreed to re-think a ban on food trucks operating within 1,000 feet of restaurants with new legislation that would create special zones where they could set up shop.

Councilman Don Botts put the ordinance on the Safety Services and Licenses Committee agenda last night with the core of it cut out. His intention, he said, was to forge a new compromise since he missed last month's vote and had a number of concerns and questions about the reasonableness of the proximity ban, especially when it eliminated almost every main street in Cranston as potential places for a food truck to do business.

"I just didn't think it was fair," Botts said.

But Botts withdrew the ordinance after what appears to be a new approach in the works.

Councilman Michael Favicchio, who was not at last night's committee meeting, is reportedly drafting a working version of a new ordinance that would carve out specific zones for food trucks to set up shop, such as Niantic Avenue near Langs Bowlarama, Rolfe Square, and the Elmwood and Wellington Avenues corridor.

Botts said the new ordinance will be based partly on what Boston is doing, which identified high traffic areas for food trucks to operate.

"It's an apples and oranges comparison, but we can model something off of it so food trucks would be free to operate," Botts said. "I think we can strike that harmony between brick and mortar restaurants and food trucks."

Councilman Richard Santamaria, who was strongly in support of the proximity ban, said he would be open to a public meeting or "roundtable" of sorts for people to look at and give input on the new draft ordinance. His support of the proximity ban was based on the notion that established restaurants pay much more in taxes than food trucks, but last night, he said he was agreeable to a compromise.