Lansdale food truck talks continue, as local owner chimes in

LANSDALE >> Work continues on a draft of new regulations for food trucks in Lansdale, and a new expert has come forward with more advice for staff to consider.

Borough council’s Code Enforcement Committee heard an update on Oct. 3 on how staff are coming closer to a draft ready for public consideration.

“We’ve asked the solicitor to prepare a draft that we will use for discussion purposes. The idea is to allow food trucks,” said bor-

ough Manager of Code Enforcement & Community Development Chris Kunkel.

Starting last year and resuming this July, staff and council’s Code committee have discussed how to write new codes spelling out where and when food trucks can set up shop in town, and what regulations they must meet.

In September, staff said they were looking at two classes of categories, for those on private property and those in public rightsof-way during large public events, and Kunkel said Wednesday a draft with rules for both is currently being vetted by the borough’s legal adviser.

“We’re trying to address both of those. We expect the draft that we get back from the solicitor will have some different options in there,” he said.

“But the purpose of that is to be able to allow food trucks where it’s appropriate,” Kunkel said.

Kunkel and Borough Manager John Ernst said they and the solicitor have also tried to incorporate aspects of other local food truck codes into the draft.

“We didn’t want to reinvent the wheel. So we took examples of other communities, and added it to our own findings,” he said.

A new voice entered that conversation Wednesday night: Jason Brown, owner of Love Food Truck Catering Co., who said he’s based in Harleysville and is a member of national organizations that monitor changing food truck rules and regulations across the country.

Food trucks that follow proper licensing rules and regulations at the state, county and local levels tend to oppose unlicensed trucks, Brown told the committee, since the unlicensed ones can create hazards like unsafe or monitored equipment or serve poor food that would reflect poorly on an organizer, and other proper trucks that were there.

“We’re looking to help, not hinder,” Brown said.

As he spoke, Brown handed each code committee member a stack of research including ordinances from other localities, and said he and other local food truck vendors would gladly share their thoughts on rules and regulations to consider.

“This is more concise — this way, you’re not searching all over for everything,” he said.

Kunkel said he and the borough solicitor would look over that material and see what they could work into the new borough codes, and committee chairman Jack Hansen said he appreciated having “a little bit of light reading.”

Lansdale’s borough council next meets at 7 p.m. on Oct. 17 at the borough municipal building, 1 Vine St. For more information visit www.Lansdale.org or follow @LansdalePA on Twitter.