Council is once again discussing changes in the legislation that addresses mobile food units, commonly known as food trucks.
North Royalton Community Development Director, Tom Jordan offered a presentation to Council at their latest Building and Building Codes Committee meeting on March 21. He said that “according to our code, a food truck is defined as ‘any apparatus or equipment that is used to cook, prepare or serve food, and that routinely changes or can change location and is operated from a moveable vehicle or apparatus, including but not limited to motorized vehicles, trailers and hand propelled carts.’” They are often parked within the public right-of-way or in a private parking lot. Currently, they are parked from 50 to 80 feet away from residential property lines. He talked about food truck parks, a trend where spaces are available to provide seating and hook ups for food trucks, such as those in Beachwood and Lakewood.
Some residents from the Sherwood development have addressed Council on several occasions, explaining the problems that have been caused by excessive noise such as that from the generators that the food trucks were using and the people gathering around the trucks. They also talked about the lights coming from the trucks. One resident said that she can hear the noise as soon as she pulls in her driveway and when she is sitting in her house.
The North Royalton City Council adopted legislation regulating food trucks in 2021 after more than a year of discussions. Up until that point, food trucks were allowed in the City through the use of special event permits. At that time, Jordan said that typically, food trucks may come to construction sites, which are unregulated. In North Royalton, food trucks are required to get a special event permit and it is typically done during the City’s annual festival. During the time of the initial discussions, owners of the Blue Monkey Brewery and 3 Spot addressed Council, speaking to both sides of the issue. On one hand, the owner from the Blue Monkey would like to see food trucks allowed, in order to subsidize his business. The owner of the 3 Spot also addressed Council, stating that the bars and restaurants in the City have made the investment in order to offer food to their patrons.
The ordinance approved in 2021 amends the City’s Codified Ordinances, Part Eight Business Regulation and Taxation Code, Title Two Business Regulation of the Codified Ordinances of the City of North Royalton by creating a new Chapter 845, Mobile Food Unit Regulations. Under the ordinance, the owner of the food truck “may submit an application, signed by the property owner authorizing the use of the location, and obtain a Limited Use Permit from the City of North Royalton Building Division prior to operating in the City of North Royalton. A Mobile Food Unit may not operate on property within the City unless it has passed a Fire Department inspection and obtained a Limited Use Permit.” The inspection by the Fire Department will cost $50.00 per inspection, which will be valid for one year. The application fee for a Limited Use Permit shall be $25 for up to a two-month period to a maximum of $100 per year, as long as the permits are for the same location each time. They can be located within any zoning district other than residential, can not be unattended, are prohibited from selling alcoholic beverages and may operate or park for no longer than four hours at any given time.
Jordan suggested the following recommendations to Council:
• Streamline the registration and permitting process for food truck operators and property owners.
• Establish definition and requirements to permit and operate a mobile food unit park.
• Restrict frequency, numbers, hours of operation, and locations for food trucks not located within a permitted mobile park food unit park.
• Encourage businesses intending to host mobile food units to provide less noisy means of powering the units.
Council has kept the food truck legislation on their agenda for future Building and Building Codes Committee meetings. The next meeting will take place at City Hall on April 18. Committee meetings begin at 6 p.m.

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer