COLUMBIA, MO – At its meeting Monday night, the Columbia City Council approved ordinances to authorize food truck zones on certain downtown streets and to extend the hours that restaurants are allowed to serve alcohol at sidewalk cafes.
After the passage of the ordinances, food trucks will be able to set up shop at eight on-street parking spaces on the south side of Cherry Street between Sixth and Seventh streets, eight spaces on the south side of Locust Street between Ninth and Tenth streets, and 10 spaces on the north side of Walnut Street between Ninth and Tenth.
To use the zones, food truck operators need to pay for the parking spaces they use by leasing meter bags from the city’s Public Works Department. Daily bags cost $10 for one space and $20 for two spaces, and monthly bags cost $150 for one space and $200 for two spaces.
Before passage of the food truck ordinance, food trucks were mostly limited to private parking lots.
Bryan Maness, owner of the Ozark Mountain Biscuit Co., testified before the council and asked it to amend the proposed ordinance to allow food trucks to park on city streets on the University of Missouri campus. Campus is predominantly zoned R-3 residential, and the ordinance the council passed does not allow food trucks in residential areas.
Council members indicated they might be open to adjusting food truck zones later, but Mayor Bob McDavid said the city should get the university’s input on the issue of allowing the trucks on campus before amending the ordinance.
“I think we should explore that,” McDavid said.
Find the entire article at columbiatribune.com <here>
