Board grants six-month time extension for West KL Avenue food truck; site-plan filing required

The Zoning Board of Appeals granted a time-extension variance on Thursday allowing a food truck operator at 4423 West KL Avenue to continue operating for six months while the operator completes the city’s site-plan review for a longer-term arrangement.

Applicant Jesús Barraza described the request as an interim step: “I want when people think about Chino’s Kitchen ... they think I’m from here, Kalamazoo,” he said, explaining that he hopes a six-month period will let the truck build a customer base while site-plan steps proceed. City staff reported the truck had previously operated under a temporary 30-day administrative authorization without complaints and said current site-plan-review workloads make a multi-month review likely.

Planning staff recommended a condition that the applicant submit the initial site-plan application and checklist promptly to start the formal process; the board included a requirement in its approval that the site-plan application be filed within 45 days. Supporters, including Rex Brueggemann, president of the Arcadia Neighborhood Association, told the board they welcome the operator as a neighborhood business and praised the food and family connection to the neighborhood.

The board adopted the finding of fact and approved the time-extension variance 5–0. Staff said approval is intended as a bridge to site-plan review; if the site-plan process leads to a brick-and-mortar kitchen at the same property, that would be pursued through normal development reviews.