LONGVIEW, TX – Members of the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Monday talked about the rising popularity of food trucks and what it could mean for Longview.

“My sense is that the City Council wants them in Long-view,” said Parks and Recreation Director Scott Caron. “So part of our role in this is figuring out what that’s going to look like in our parks, and what we need to do to make it work out for the benefit of city residents.”

Director of Community Services Laura Hill said she is preparing a presentation for the Oct. 8 City Council meeting.

“We have reviewed information from other cities like Austin, Tyler, Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, San Antonio, Waco and Houston,” she said. “As well as from the National Food Truck Association and the National League of Cities.”

Hill said a host of city departments are involved in the process to make sure Longview “can make sure we’re doing it right” should council members decide it is a matter worth pursuing.

“While there are several areas that are ‘standardized’ throughout the state and are nonnegotiable — such as complying with all applicable Texas Food Establishment Rules, having to operate via a commissary, and complying with all pertinent fire and traffic codes — there are other areas, such as operation locations and times, that are truly local preference, and we will be requesting guidance from the City Council on such issues,” she said.

Advisory board President Kirk Shields asked whether the approach the city would be taking would be in line with other area cities that permit food trucks.

“Some supporters (of food trucks) may want the city to be more lenient, so there’s always going to be a balance,” he said. “I think, at the outset, we’re going to take a more conservative approach and then perhaps loosen up a bit as we go along. But that all remains to be seen, and we don’t know if this will even be something the council decides to move forward with.”

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