We are keeping our finger crossed in hopes that the Lawton, Oklahoma city council will approve food truck regulations tonight.

LAWTON, OK – The City of Lawton is hoping food trucks into the fold with new city code that regulates the mobile food businesses. In Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, the council will vote on these new codes. The city saw how much food trucks have grown in popularity, and became concerned when they had no food truck code on the books.

With a committee of city council members, restaurant and food truck owners, they created regulations that match the state law. Lawton City Planner Richard Rogalski says that if the food truck owners were already following the state’s rules, they don’t have much to change. But now the city can enforce the rules themselves, and the food trucks have more options to where they can set up shop.

Owner of Krazy Birdz food truck Joe Abshere was getting ready for his weekly Tuesday service. Abshere and other food truck and restaurant owners spent time with city officials, putting together these new food truck city codes that mirror the state laws.

“It’s not hard,” said Abshere. “It just a little bit of following the things we’ve already been doing.”

Rogalski says one of the changes is they are allowing food trucks to set up at parks whenever they want with a food truck permit.

That was something that had previously been restricted by the city, unless the trucks were part of an event.

“Like say for instance in Elmer Thomas Park one day they think well I think there are going to be a lot of kids at the play zone, and I’m going to pull over there and see if I can sell some food,” said Rogalski. “I think it becomes an amenity in that sort of situation.”

Abshere sees that as an opportunity for the community.

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