Council adopts citywide mobile food license after split vote; staff, sheriff outline enforcement role

After extended discussion, the council voted 4–1 to amend the city code to regulate mobile food units and require an annual city license and fire inspection. The ordinance revision removes a prior street‑specific limitation and allows mobile food units on public streets in accordance with criteria and staff review.

Council Member Ryan opposed the change on philosophical grounds and said he preferred repealing the city license because food trucks are already regulated by state health authorities: “The food trucks that we often see now would not be in compliance with our current ordinance. So my argument would be, we should be getting rid of the ordinance. Food trucks are still regulated. I mean, they still have to go through Department of Health,” he said. Ryan said he did not want to add a layer of bureaucracy that many operators are not currently following.

City staff and the planner said the proposed change was intended to streamline and unify licensing between the city clerk’s office and Parks & Recreation so every vendor is treated consistently and the city can verify insurance, state licensure and safety inspections once a single annual license is issued. Staff noted the license carries no per‑event fee and vendors could list multiple event sites.

Staff also added a fire‑inspection requirement after citing incidents elsewhere; the planner said that requirement stems from public‑safety concerns. The draft ordinance revises section 4‑12‑5 (public rights‑of‑way and city properties) to open permitted public‑street parking of mobile food units across the city subject to staff criteria; the earlier ordinance had limited such street parking to a Parsons Avenue block in the B‑3 district.

A sheriff’s office representative told the council that without a local ordinance the sheriff’s office has limited recourse for immediate removal: city licensing creates a local enforcement mechanism the sheriff can act on rather than relying only on state civil enforcement. The sheriff’s comments moved several council members toward supporting the ordinance for enforcement reasons.

Council directed staff to gather example ordinances from neighboring cities (staff later reported Albertville, St. Michael and Elk River require mobile food licenses) and to return with any additional clarifications staff or councilmembers requested. The ordinance was read and approved in summary form at the meeting.