SIOUX FALLS, SD – Food trucks are becoming a popular option for Sioux Falls residents.

And it makes sense – they’re convenient, and many offer a variety of great selections.

It appears that some downtown Sioux Falls restaurants aren’t happy, however, because they say the food trucks are taking away their business.

As a result, the city is working on proposals that would limit the number of hours food trucks operate, as well as where they can park. One proposal would put a buffer from 100 to 300 feet between food trucks and restaurants, as well as stoppage times of midnight and 3 a.m.

Food trucks should face some restrictions – for noise, exhaust pollution, as well as health codes that any other restaurant would face. Current city ordinances should already handle all of those issues, however.

There seems to be little evidence that the food truck restrictions being discussed are actually necessary. In the afternoons, the two that frequent downtown are parked far away from restaurants. And in the evening, most bars and restaurants have stopped serving food when food trucks get their most business. Clearly, there is a need for late-night food options downtown.

Adam Roach, a neighborhood development coordinator, said restaurants are affected because food trucks can pack up and go wherever they want while brick-and-mortar locations are stuck.

“So what we’re really trying to do is strike a balance by protecting brick-and-mortar within downtown while allowing mobile food vendors to coexist,” Roach told a City Council committee.

But where do you draw the line? Every retailer in the world would love to put restrictions on businesses that are competing against them. Amazon.com is making life difficult for malls and bookstores, for instance. It also isn’t the government’s job to make sure that individual businesses are successful.

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