Montgomery hikes permit fees for food trucks

Food trucks in Montgomery now will operate under an updated peddlers, solicitors and vendors ordinance, which includes changes to permit fees and additional exemptions in the city.

Special-use permits will be required for food truck courts and food trucks operating in the city’s historic district.

Food truck vendors also will have the option to purchase a one-week permit for $25, a onemonth permit for $100 and a six-month permit for $600. Previously, vendors paid a $50 monthly fee.

City officials moved to adopt the changes to the ordinance during a June 13 council meeting, making it the first time since 1996 since the ordinance had been amended.

“We’d like to thank current council, former council, planning and zoning (and) staff for your concerted efforts in finally bringing this to what we believe to be a fair consideration of all factors,” Mayor Byron Sanford said during the city council meeting earlier this month, noting the work of the new city administrator Gary Palmer.

Food trucks are exempt from this ordinance if they are operating under a city-issued street festival permit or other special event permit, according to documents provided by the city. Any food truck operating as an accessory use to a restaurant located on the same property is also exempt from the ordinance as long as the food distributed by the food truck is made by the on-site restaurant.

Officials began workshopping the amendment to the ordinance in April as food trucks had grown in popularity. During a planning and zoning meeting on April 6, Palmer said officials were trying to “come up with some best practices for this activity.”

Food trucks have been debated in the past by city leaders, with some voicing concerns over mobility and restroom proximity.

A 2021 draft of a then-ordinance stated that mobile food trucks must move every 48 hours and be located within 300 feet of a restroom. City council voted against adopting the ordinance and tabled the issue.

In December, officials announced that a food truck park would come to the city. The food truck park was expected to sit on nearly 1.5 acres near the city’s historic district. However, due to high interest rates for the property, the project has come to a halt, said Manny Borjas, operations manager for Bella Tierra Consulting LLC.

“We’ve decided to sell the property,” Borjas said. “Our interest went way up on the note in February. It’s almost double what it was before.”

Food trucks have been a part of the city’s business makeup for several years, officials said. The city currently has more than six food trucks within city limits.