- April 18, 2024
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While discussing a land development code amendment to allow Ormond Brewing Company to have food trucks onsite, the Ormond Beach Planning Board delved into a broader question: Why did the board even have to grant an amendment in the first place?
“We’re making it so hard for a small businessman to be an entrepreneur that I think it’s ridiculous that we have to set an example for a place a food truck can come in and park on somebody’s private property,"said Planning Board member G.G. Galloway at the board's meeting on Thursday, Aug. 9.
Under the city's current land development code, food trucks are not allowed. The only exception to that rule are community-wide special events, said Planning Director Steven Spraker. With current regulation, businesses hoping to bring in local food trucks to either feed workers or bring in an extra amenity to patrons during operating hours must follow the same procedure as Ormond Brewing Company.
Other local breweries will benefit from Ormond Brewing Company's request, as that amended the land development code to allow food trucks for all malted beverage producers in town.
The amendment sparked conversation between several Planning Board members, who expressed the city should allow food trucks just like others across the nation.
“I think we should be more welcoming and appreciative that they’re trying to do something fun and positive," Planning Board member Lori Tolland said.
She listed Austin, Texas, and Richmond, Virginia, as examples of cities taking advantage of food trucks to bring in millennials. If in the future, there is an overabundance of food trucks on Granada Boulevard, Tolland said then the board should talk about how to regulate them.
Galloway said his concern was that the board would be setting a precedent for each specific use in the land development code to seek its own food truck allowance. He said he could see how some individuals would be opposed to allowing food trucks in town apart from special events, likening it to taxi drivers standing up against Uber, the ridesharing company gaining fast popularity across the U.S.
“Times are changing," Galloway said. "Food trucks should be allowed, period.”
Spraker said the city's Planning Department will have to research this issue further and see how other jurisdictions are handling food trucks before bringing it back to the Planning Board as a future discussion item.
