Louisburg council approves food-truck ordinance amendment to allow trucks at Walmart

The Louisburg Town Council on Tuesday approved an amendment to the town's food-truck ordinance to allow food trucks to operate at specified locations in the Walmart parking lot.

Town staff introduced the change as a response to requests from food-truck operators and a proposal from Walmart's store manager, Kathy Sieczynski, to host food trucks at the store to support fundraising for the Children's Miracle Network. Mr. Satterwhite, town staff, said the amendment would restrict trucks to the Walmart property and to several mapped spots in the rear and along a wide concrete forecourt so they would not interfere with regular traffic or nearby businesses.

The amendment formalizes what Mr. Satterwhite described as a plan discussed with Sieczynski to limit vendor locations to low-traffic areas of the lot and to require participating vendors to make donations in support of store fundraising for the Children's Miracle Network. Sieczynski told the council that the store's corporate fundraising work is coordinated locally and that vendors have in the past helped the store's campaign; she said, "20% of what I bring in from these food trucks actually goes directly into our account for CNN." (Kathy Sieczynski, Walmart store manager)

Council members asked practical questions about where trucks would park and whether weekday operations would conflict with grocery pickup or other on-site activity. Councilor Woods and Councilwoman Wright commented favorably on food trucks as a way to bring customers downtown and support small businesses. Mr. Satterwhite and the council emphasized that trucks would not be allowed on the eastern side of the lot or in places that would compete with existing restaurants.

Following the public-hearing discussion, a motion to approve the ordinance amendment for Walmart passed with the council voting in favor.

The ordinance change applies only to the mapped locations on Walmart property; other approved town food-truck zones remain in effect. The council did not set a mandatory donation percentage in the ordinance text; staff said participating businesses would be asked to donate to fundraising events coordinated with the store.

The council approved the amendment during the same meeting that addressed other downtown ordinance changes.