It’s rather simple. Create a welcoming set of non-restrictive food truck regulations and the vendors will come, even if it’s just to test a new market. Palm Springs on the other hand created a non-welcoming set of rules that keep food truck owners away. It seems the City Council plans have done what they wanted…protect local restaurants from fair competition.

PALM SPRINGS, CA – It’s been more than a year since the Palm Springs City Council approved an ordinance to allow food trucks in Palm Springs.

Yet, no food truck business has even applied for one of the permits.

Representatives from the food truck industry say the city’s regulations – viewed as “fairly onerous” – are in effect meant to keep the businesses out of Palm Springs.

“If we had more trucks that were interested in vending in Palm Springs, we would actually deal with the city, either cooperatively or – like we have with 13 other cities – less cooperatively,” said Matt Geller, CEO of the Southern California Mobile Food Vendors Association. “We would just sue them.”

“But we’re not really looking to do that in Palm Springs,” he added.

The Palm Springs food truck ordinance was approved by the City Council in early May 2015 after more than a year of studying the issue following a move by Riverside County to allow the mobile food vending businesses. Palm Springs’ current ordinance was drafted after numerous meetings with brick-and-mortar restaurant operators, downtown merchants and “other downtown representatives,” according to a May 6, 2015 Palm Springs City Council staff report.

The message from those downtown and uptown voices remains clear: stay away.

Find the entire article at desertsun.com [here]