I would have to agree with Peter Chang’s comment in the recent Argus article;
“They’re trying to make it look like they’re doing us a huge favor. But we’re not doing anything that needs more regulations. And until now, they’ve let anyone be out until 2 a.m. anyway, so it just seems disingenuous.â€
As Chang points out in the article, food truck vendors already have to meet safety standards, background checks and have insurance. So is this is really just about limiting/extending the time they can operate? Right now they have a peddler’s license that is $35, that would increase to $75. But one has to ask, is this any different than a pizza delivery driver who can deliver until 4 AM? So what’s the point of having any regulations? Sounds like just another busy body city employee looking for something to do.
While I agree they should have their own licenses, I see no reason to complicate it further. People in Sioux Falls like their food trucks, and putting more regulations on them seems counter productive.
But as we see all the time in Sioux Falls, rules seemingly only apply to ‘certain’ individuals. I got a good laugh about this last night watching the city council meeting. The council keeps dinking around in addressing the boulevard ordinance (which requires you to have 100% grass cover in the boulevard) yet the mayor turns around and gives the individual city beautification award to a gentleman who is violating that ordinance. Oh the irony. Joe Sneve did an article about it online the Argus this afternoon, he is still waiting to hear a response from the mayor.
When you look at Warren Shoberg’s boulevard plantings, it’s obvious they have little or no height to them, thus creating no hazard for either drivers or pedestrians.
When it is 10 degrees with a 20 mile per hour wind blowing in January, will the city take steps to help the food trucks overcome the advantages of heated brick and mortar restaurants?
Anon, yes, but it is still in violation of current code. Not sure if you saw the mayor’s comment in the paper, but he wants the code to change to, but he made sure he said that he wants it to be ‘enforceable’. The revision of the boulevard code is going to be a very messy process, wait and see.
Thomas, LOL. Yeah, I love how they are sooooo worried the food trucks are taking away business. Wahhhhh!
Can’t fault boulevard planters for making visibility nil when the city opts to do the same at their favorite roundabout using planted prairie grass.
How about a creme pie truck outside Carnegie Hall and the mayor’s L&L places.
It’s impossible to do something new here. By the time you get approvals and pay off every part of city government, police will false arrest you or it becomes obsolete.
How about permanent trailers just outside city limits. Either get your food on the way into town or use pizza & Steak Out subcontractors arranged delivery?
Food trucks will be popular in Flandreau once the Pot Palace opens. Flandreau should replace downtown Sioux Falls for the working class majority. It’s the 5 dubyas: Wine, Women, Weed, Whopper, & Won arm bandits.
Well, you made sense with the first sentence but then kept talking and blew your credibility – “It’s impossible to do something new here. By the time you get approvals and pay off every part of city government, police will false arrest you or it becomes obsolete.”
This town will never be a real city until it embraces non-chain restaurants or stops chasing the next fad (how many frozen yogurt places opened then closed within a year!) Now it’s faux-authentic italian pizza. There’s at least 4 different small/regional chain pizza places set to open right now – how long til the lease is up and the business loan runs out/defaults.
Thomas, you made me spit out my coffee that was so funny and true!