Tulsa, OK	Lexington, KY	Raleigh, NC	San Diego, CA
General Questions
1. How long have your regulations related to mobile food units been in place?	About 30 years. Current regulations adopted Nov 1, 2011	Health Regs in place for decades. Modifications to zoning, licensing enacted in 2013.	Since 2011.	We expect our Ordinance to finally be effective September 15, 2014.
2. How many mobile food units have registered/licensed in your community?	140; 24 mobile indoor pushcarts, 31 mobile outdoor pushcarts, 91 mobile vehicles	Unknown, maintained by County Health Dept.	42	About 500 units within the County. (County Health Dept)
3. Who is responsible for inspecting the mobile food unit to insure that proper food safety measures are followed and the mobile food unit is sanitary and safe?	Tulsa Health Department	County Health Department.	Wake County Health Department (same as for restaurants)	The County of San Diego issues health permits and performs health inspections.  Food trucks are required to post a letter grade health rating like brick and mortar restaurants.
4. What do you see as the benefits to having mobile food units in your community?	Provide opportunity for new business, employment; added services to areas & events; add activity and excitement to urban places.	Vibrant Food and Street Activity; potential for start up businesses.	The community seems to enjoy them and they generate huge crowds at their “Roadeos”.  They also help support other community events by making food and beverages available to the crowd.	Innovative food options and small business opportunities in the food industry that are more attainable than a start-up restaurant.
5. Are there any changes you feel would make the regulations more effective, or easier to implement?	Communicate early with mobile vendors, brick-and-mortar restaurants / stakeholders.	--	No	Our regulations are too new to evaluate.  We plan to reevaluate after a year.
6. Have you had any complaints or issues with mobile food units?	--	Noise (generators); lights	Yes:  Some operators are not abiding by our limits on hours of operation and are operating into the night beyond the legal time frame.	Yes, this is the reason we decided to pursue a code amendment and to incorporate new provisions into our zoning code.  We wanted to make the regulations clear and provide opportunities for mobile food vending on private property and in the public r-o-w.
7. Have you identified any specific enforcement issues with mobile food units?	Locating mobiles that aren’t operating on a set route; ensuring that mobiles are returning to designated commissary every 12 hours for clean-up and wastewater disposal; units that operate without adequate food safety training or facilities; mobiles that improperly dispose of wastewater; mobiles that prepare food in an unlicensed facility; and ability to conduct site plan reviews.	--	No	Enforcement of the regulations on mobile businesses is much more difficult than applying regulations to regular activity at a fixed location.
8. Now that you have mobile food units in your community, what is your overall opinion of them? Anything you would have done differently?	They help add vibrancy, sense of place and a reason for people to come/live/visit downtown.	--	They haven’t been a big problem and the community seems to embrace them.  We did modify our regulations about a year into their operation to allow for more trucks to operate at a given location.	We have a long history of mobile food units in our City, which have existed regardless of whether or not the City had regulations on the books to allow them.  Food trucks are very popular here.
9. Have you had any cases of food poisoning that was linked to a mobile unit? If so, how easy was it to determine the cause?	The Health Dept has not received any cases that have been epidemiologically linked. We have had complaints regarding possible FBI cases, but nothing that has been confirmed.	Unknown.	No reported food poisonings that we are aware of.	--
Code Specific Questions
1. Do your regulations limit the amount of time a mobile food unit may be in one location? (If so, what is the restriction?)	No.	County Health Dept limits the use to no more than 14 consecutive days per permit.	No	Max of 3 days/week in Commercial Zones
2. Is there any restriction on the type of food that is offered?	No, must meet food requirements of the Health Department.	Depends upon availability of water, etc.	No	Yes, sell only food/beverage items regulated under the California Retail Food Code.
3. Do your regulations allow the food to be prepared in the food truck or are they limited to pre-packaged foods?	May be prepared in the truck.	Depends upon availability of water, etc.	May be prepared in the truck.	Yes.
4. Does the code require the mobile food units to be mobile and be able to be moved, even when remaining in one location for an extended period of time?	All mobile food service establishments are required to report daily to a commissary to dispose of wastewater, refill with water, service the unit, and stock up (OAC310:257-17-2,3,5,6)	--	No.	No.
5. Where are mobile food units allowed to park/operate? (Certain parts of town, private property, right-of-way, specific zoning districts?)	Restricted to industrial, commercial, business, and parking districts.	On private property, same zoning category as brick and mortar restaurants; on public right-of-way, in certain areas and with additional restrictions.	Limited to location on a lot with a principal structure or use. Permitted in a range of zoning districts, not in residential.	Industrial, Commercial and Multi-Dwelling (With Neighborhood Use Permit) Districts and Centre City Planned District Zone. Ordinance lists areas where due to the density of development, food trucks are not permitted in the r-o-w for safety reasons.
6. Do you have any restrictions on operating hours? Are mobile food units allowed to operate in districts at night after the restaurants close in areas that would be considered entertainment districts or areas that bars predominate?	Yes, restricted per type of business. (Planning Note: Not able to find any restrictions in the Code.)	Yes, Per City Code hours are limited to 7AM to 11PM but may operate later if a permanent business on the site is open to the public later, may operate till that business is closed. A ‘pilot program’ has been established to allow a 6 month trial period for food trucks on public property.	Between 6AM and 3AM unless the designated location is within 150’ of property line of single- or two-unit dwelling, in that case hours are limited to between 7AM and 10 PM.	Did not find any limitation in the Code.
7. Do you limit the density of mobile food units (the number permitted per specific area)?	No.	No.	Max of 2 food trucks on lots of ½ acre or less; Max of 3 food trucks on lots between ½ and 1 acre; Max of 4 food trucks on lots greater than 1 acre. Outdoor seating areas associated w/food trucks permitted on lots 2 acres or more.	1 food tuck may operate on the site for every 525 sq ft paved area of at least 35’ x 15’. Food trucks greater than 27’ in length require a space at least 70 ft x 15’
8. Do you have a specific setback from property lines or from adjacent residential property lines?	No.	--	No.	No.
9. Have you applied any restrictions related to competition between mobile units and brick and mortar restaurants? (For example, no food truck within 500 ft of a restaurant serving a similar type food.)	Yes. Currently 150 ft, 300 ft is being proposed. Currently not permitted: 1. Within 150’ of a public or private school grounds during the hours of regular school session, except when authorized in writing by said school; or 2. Within 150’ of the entrance to a business establishment which is open for business and is offering for sale the same or similar product as an item offered for sale by the mobile vendor unless authorized in writing by the stationary business establishment; or 3. Within 150’ of a restaurant, cafe or eating establishment which is open for business unless authorized in writing by the stationary business establishment; or 4. Within 150’ of a public park of the City where a City authorized concession stand is located during times other than during the course of a public celebration except as approved by the City; or 5. Within 150’ of City property where a City authorized concession stand is located during the course of a public celebration when nonprofit organizations are permitted to engage in the sale of merchandise and food at such property; or 6. Within 150’ of the location for which a special event permit has been issued during the time specified from the start through completion of the special event.	No.	Must be located at least 100’ from the main entrance to any eating est., 100’ from outdoor dining area, and 50’ from permitted food cart location.	Throughout the process, the question of fairness has been raised, particularly by small businesses in commercial areas. A common request was for the City to adopt a 75 ft separation distance from restaurant entrances (similar to San Francisco) and/or a requirement for food trucks to pay a fee with their business tax that would allow them access to operate in business improvement districts. The City Attorney identified legal concerns with those options.
10. Do you feel the mobile food units have had an impact on the permanent restaurants in the area?	Minimal once separation standards were established. In the Downtown area they bring more people to the Brady Arts District; may introduce people who return for other reasons.	There is still local controversy on certain aspects of the matter, especially as to use of the public right-of-way, impact on brick and mortar restaurants, and similar questions. All in all, food trucks have been well-received, even by brick and mortar restaurants, when they are located on private property in appropriate zones. Issues arrive primarily when mobile food units seek to use public rights-of-way or seek ordinance amendments to permit them to operate in zoning categories where brick and mortar restaurants are not permitted such as office zones and agricultural zones.	--	--
11. How are food trucks/mobile food units permitted? (license, site plan, special event permit, Special use permit)	Permitting includes City of Tulsa and Tulsa city County Health Department including licenses, site plans for special/seasonal categories, Site plan expires annually.	Each food truck requires a license, unless the owner of property applies to Planning to have the property used on a regular basis by 1 or more mobile food units with a Zoning Compliance Permit: 1. Zoning Compliance Permit, valid for 2 years, includes a site plan & must meet these requirements: a. Minimum required parking maintained—no new spaces required for the mobile unit. b. Location allows for proper vehicle and pedestrian circulation, c. Site’s zoning permits ‘restaurant’ use	Food Truck Permit, Zoning Permit required to be located on a site,	County Health permit and business tax certificate. Health Permit must be posted. No City permit required when in r-o-w, but is required on private property. Property owners must obtain a permit to host food trucks on private property, except for industrial zones or for catering a private event. (The permit holder-property owner- is responsible for ensuring the food trucks comply with Code.) Permit may be revoked if violated and not immediately corrected.