Let's get this done. The last ordinance was a poorly veiled attempt to kill off food trucks for panicked brick and mortar businesses. This is New England- we have long, cold winters, wet springs, and hot summers. If your brick and mortar restaurant can't get customers in the door, it isn't because there's a food truck serving falafel in three foot snow drifts during February.
Eliminate the 5 minute rule, allow trucks in public parks, and
get trucks into the Canal District, Shrewsbury Street, UMass, The Hanover Theatre, the Common, the Library, and the colleges. Get food trucks downtown immediately, especially after 9 and 10 PM until 2 AM when most restaurants close down but bars are still in business, and people need food.
Our food scene needs this kind of creativity, and it is a chance for aspiring chefs to start a career. If successful, many food truck owners expand to brick and mortar businesses, which is great for us.
The City's main interest in this new ordinance should be oversight of the trucks ensuring that operators adhere to food safety regulations. But that means hiring more food inspectors- the few we have are overworked and have far too many establishments to visit.
The cost of permitting food trucks and having adequate inspections would be too high for a food truck to bear. Our current staffing levels are too low to keep up with all the restaurants, corner stores, and grocery stores in the city.
We need more- and the inspectors need to be able to do their jobs. A few years ago (2012 I believe), they were diverted from food inspections to respond to snow removal complaints during a snowy winter, and inspections lagged way behind.
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