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Food-truck owner urges Oldsmar council to clarify permitting rules, fees
Summary
A local food-truck owner told the City Council that Oldsmar’s temporary vendor rules are vague and give the city manager unchecked power to set fees and grant permits, and asked council to revise code language and designate a city department to issue permits.
Steve Caldwell, a longtime Oldsmar resident and co-owner of Beam Bus Coffee, told the City Council on Feb. 4 that city rules on temporary vendors are vague, give too much discretion to the city manager and are deterring mobile small businesses.
Caldwell said the land-development code’s temporary-vendor provisions (referred to in the meeting as sections 14.4.0.5, 14.4.0.7 and 14.4.0.2) define “canteen, wagon, or truck” only as a temporary use and do not define mobile food trucks. He said that lack of definition could technically require permits for a wide range of truck-based businesses and that the code leaves permit fees and waiver authority to the city manager’s discretion. “The code gives sole power to issue that permit to the city manager,” Caldwell said, and added that his written request for help received no reply while city staff sent a vacate order to his vending spot.
Caldwell asked the council to review and amend the code to (1) define mobile food trucks distinctly from other trucked businesses, (2) set fixed fees for temporary-use permits rather than leaving costs to managerial discretion, (3) move authority to issue temporary-use permits from the city manager to the planning/Community Development director and (4) allow use of Commerce Street east of City Hall as a temporary food-truck court until the street is redeveloped. He said early support from the mayor and several community partners helped his startup, while unclear permitting threatened operations.
Caldwell named several people who aided the venture, including Mayor Saraki and volunteers from the Upper Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce and Oldsmar Fire and Rescue. He also reported that staff enforcement had issued a vacate order at his site; he described the code as “restrictive and very vague” and asked council intervention to reduce uncertainty for mobile vendors.
The comment came during the council’s open forum; no staff presentation or council directive on the code was recorded in the meeting minutes. Council members did not take immediate action on Caldwell’s specific requests during the Feb. 4 meeting.
Background: Caldwell referenced the city’s land-development code sections governing temporary vendors and permits and urged the council to clarify definitions, fee structures and the permitting authority. He also suggested a temporary use of an abandoned roadway (Commerce Street) as a designated food-truck court to support local entrepreneurship.
Next steps noted in the meeting: Caldwell said he would provide written material to the city clerk; council discussion or formal referral to staff for code changes was not recorded that evening.
