TONAWANDA  NY downtownTONAWANDA, NY – UPDATE – The popular rolling kitchens known as food trucks will be permitted to operate in the City of Tonawanda – though not in its parks – under new regulations the Common Council unanimously approved Tuesday.

“We’re gratified that the City of Tonawanda has allowed us on the playing field in this municipality, and we’re looking forward to a trial run to see how this works out for both the trucks and the city,” said Mitchell M. Stenger, attorney for the Western New York Food Truck Association.

The rules, which are similar to those recently passed in Buffalo and Amherst, include:

• An annual $400 application fee prorated to $100 for the remainder of 2013.

• A ban on operating within 100 feet from the outer walls of any restaurant with an open kitchen.

• A requirement for at least two trash receptacles of “sufficient capacity.”

• A sunset clause that will force lawmakers to revisit the issue when the ordinance expires Dec. 31, which essentially makes Tuesday’s Council action a trial run.

Original Story…

The City of Tonawanda Common Council will again consider a resolution regulating food trucks at their upcoming meeting on Tuesday.

The resolution, available online, designates a $400 annual registration fee, but the proposal doesn’t specify how far food trucks would have to keep away from brick and mortar restaurants. Talks surrounding both requirements will likely continue at the work session Tuesday before being finalized for a vote.

The publishing of Tuesday’s meeting agenda comes after a series of talks on a food truck resolution over the past month. The matter was initially brought up after restaurants on Niagara Street complained of food trucks operating near their businesses, and the council’s early talks centered on a resolution that would keep the mobile vendors away from the most populated areas of the city.

The original proposed ordinance, set forth a month ago, would have made it illegal for food trucks to operate within a 1,000-foot radius of any brick and mortar restaurant. The measure also specified an application fee of $1,000, and a $500 annual renewal fee.

Find the entire article by Jessica Bagley at tonawanda-news.com <here>