The language in question from the District’s proposed vending regulations sounds innocuous enough: Food trucks may not vend from a parking spot adjacent to an “unobstructed sidewalk” that’s “less than ten feet (10 ft.) wide in the Central Business District.”

But since the proposed regulations were published in October, members of the D.C. Food Truck Association have been trying to determine what those words could mean for their businesses, and what they’ve learned has unnerved them: Eight of the 10 most popular food-truck destinations downtown do not technically comply with the proposed rules as written, according to research done by the association.

Only the Metro Center and L Street NW locations fit the current criteria, notes Che Ruddell-Tabisola, executive director of the association and co-owner of the BBQ Bus.

The city is still taking public comments on the regs. Comments are due by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, and may be sent to Helder Gil, Legislative Affairs Specialist, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs at 1100 Fourth St. SW, Room 5164, Washington, D.C. 20024. Comments may be e-mailed to [email protected].