It is for me. Why wouldn't you want a food truck parked outside the neighborhood park? Walk down to the park and pick up some dinner instead of hopping in a car and driving 10 minutes to apple/chilis/etc.
> Why wouldn't you want a food truck parked outside the neighborhood park?
Noise, smell, litter, crowds, extra traffic, taking up space from people who wanted to use the park, fumes from generators or burners... lots of reasons.
> instead of hopping in a car and driving 10 minutes to apple/chilis/etc
I mean these aren’t really the only two options are they, come on.
The same dynamic that results in zoning that prohibits food trucks also results in large swathes of residential area in suburbs with no real restaurant options inside walking distance.
I would expect that food trucks would naturally stay away from such areas due to economics, anyway. You need to draw a lot of people, and there aren't a lot of people who are going to travel to visit a specific food truck, so you need passersby which means you need density and activity.
Suburbs almost by definition have very little that's walking distance. One house per family makes everything very spread out and far away - in exchange for everyone having a lawn and a backyard that's 'theirs'.
Many suburbs aren't like that though -- they are just parts of a city that are outside official city limits and not those sterile "Stepford Wives" dystopias. I live in a suburb of Washington DC that is basically as dense as the the city itself and full of apartment buildings, restaurants, bars, and Metro station all within walking distance.
Our Planning Commission addressed this a bit last night (since this ordinance goes to them first for a formal vote, although last night was just a working session for discussion). The consensus seemed to be that although some people were in favor of no zoning restrictions (which I agree with, personally), those same members felt that it was too big of a challenge for this ordinance.
Our Planner also clarified that food trucks are still bound by nuisance ordinances, e.g. for noise and fumes. Granted, claiming a fume nuisance is somewhat difficult, but we already do have laws for residential areas covering things like that. Planning Commission was also concerned about noise and exhaust from things like generators, which could very well happen in your neighbor's yard during a football game.
There's also the use argument. Food trucks are a commercial use, and operating them in a residential zone then suggests that there's a certain commercial use in a zone that, for better or worse, isn't supposed to have that use (as I understand it). As much as we'd like more mixed use, that sort of thing might not work for now. The City also acknowledged that when you mix uses like that, especially in a residential area, it can be contentious for neighbors.
All in all, I imagine they'll leave in the restriction about residential zones, which I think is fine for now. Right now, food trucks aren't specifically legal anywhere in the city, so this ordinance would be a great first step, even if we have to take some more steps later.
just a suggestion but in downtown San Diego, the City blocks off a street for a week and invites a dozen or so food trucks to come park there. They make an event out of it and staff it appropriately with extra clean-up and such. Huge, huge hit with the folks who work in the buildings nearby.
Maybe get a few of the truck owners to band together and ask Ann Arbor to try out something like that.
I guess I'm imagining a couple of trucks parked along the edge of a fairly stand-alone neighborhood park that has plenty of parking.
I can think of multiple concrete locations where this would work great without causing a nuisance.
Of course, I don't doubt that there are also more dense and/or differently configured suburbs where this wouldn't work as well.
> I mean these aren’t really the only two options are they, come on.
In many places those are the two options that a) aren't fast food or pizza, b) are family-friendly, and c) within 10 minutes of a large number of houses. Especially in parts of the country that drink more heavily, it's hard to find restaurants that satisfy (b)... tons of restaurants have a very bar-y atmosphere for most of the night.
I mean, feel free to disagree. But... from personal experience, yes, these places exist.
The park here permits a concession trailer (and multiple food trucks during events).
I expect in Ann Arbor that some of the motivation is street parking, of which there is not nearly enough in areas with student houses. And then additionally the disruption of traffic on the narrow residential streets.
The parcels that can have food trucks are near restaurants, so I think they aren't the issue.
Same reason why most people don't want restaurants or businesses in their neighborhoods, and why zoning exists in the first place. The slight hit in convenience is usually acceptable so residential streets are free from noise, crowds, traffic, waste etc.
