Committee narrowly approves ban on open-flame food trucks at gas stations with 300-foot safety amendment
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Summary
The Land Use & Zoning Committee on April 1 approved ordinance 2025-0159, barring mobile food vehicles that use open flame from preparing or selling food on properties that dispense gasoline or flammable petroleum products. The committee added a 300-foot safety distance and a 90-day delay before enforcement.
The Land Use & Zoning Committee on April 1 approved ordinance 2025-0159, restricting mobile food vehicles that use open flame from preparing or selling food on properties that dispense gasoline or other flammable petroleum products. The measure passed 4-3 after the committee adopted a number of amendments that narrowed the restriction and set implementation parameters.
Sponsor Councilman Joe Carlucci said the measure is a safety-focused response to concerns about open flames near gasoline pumps. Planning staff recommended similar locational restrictions be cross-referenced in the vending code (chapter 250) and supported adding a short grace period for enforcement so the public can be educated on the change.
During three hours of debate, council members and public commenters raised opposing concerns. Supporters cited fire-safety risk around fuel-dispensing sites and asked the city to be proactive. Opponents, including several food-truck operators and small-business advocates, said the restriction would harm entrepreneurs and limit food access in some neighborhoods.
Committee members first approved a rules amendment to focus the ban on vehicles employing an open flame (propane or similar), and they later removed broader language that had encompassed "other heating elements." Councilmember Arias and others emphasized electric/induction-powered vendors are unaffected.
Councilmember Amaro proposed a 300-foot distance amendment based on an emergency-response guide; that amendment carried 4-3 and was folded into the final ordinance. A competing proposal to set the distance at 75 feet, offered by Councilmember Johnson and justified by some firefighters and outside experts, failed. Additional changes adopted by the committee extend the locational prohibition into PUD and neighborhood-commercial categories where appropriate, add a 90-day period before enforcement begins to allow public notification, and add references in chapter 250 so vending permit reviewers see the zoning prohibitions.
The final vote on the ordinance as amended was 4–3. The ordinance now moves forward for further processing; members discussed the need for improved inspection and consumer-affairs staffing so the city can track compliance and permits.
Votes at a glance 2025-0159 — Prohibit open-flame mobile food vehicles preparing or selling food on fuel-dispensing properties, with 300-foot distance amendment and 90-day delayed enforcement: Approved, 4-3.
