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Business owners urge council to enforce pending mobile-food ordinance; council to seek relocation options
Summary
Sellersburg business owners told the Town Council March 10 that mobile food trucks parked at a private Southern Realty lot are blocking customer spaces and causing safety and appearance concerns; the council asked staff to pursue relocation options and mediation.
Business owners near the Southern Realty lot raised repeated concerns at the March 10 Sellersburg Town Council meeting about mobile food trucks operating in a private parking area near the Utica/Route 31 corridor, saying trucks obstruct customer parking, draw transient vehicles and create appearance issues.
Ronald Poteague, identified in public comment as a commercial property owner on Lincoln Boulevard, said food-truck customers regularly take private parking spaces and that large service vehicles have used tenant spaces to stop and purchase food. He said he and other local businesses had asked the property owner to move trucks to the far side of the lot but were told the truck operators rely on existing electrical connections at their current location.
Council response and ordinance status: Staff noted a new mobile-food ordinance had been passed but was not yet effective; the meeting record shows the ordinance requires that a single location not remain in place more than 12 hours without a temporary utility connection and bars trucks from blocking vehicular passage or parking aisles. Because the ordinance requires a notice period before enforcement (the meeting noted a projected effective date later in March after required notices), councilmembers said staff should pursue voluntary relocation options, coordinate with the property owner and the food-truck operators, and consider town-owned locations such as Wilkerson Park or the vacant lot across the street if electrical access and liability can be addressed.
Why it matters: The dispute highlights competing uses of limited downtown parking and the transition of traffic patterns while INDOT's Route 31 work is underway; business owners asked the town to mediate so local commerce is not harmed.
Council direction: Council asked staff to contact the seafood/ice-cream truck operators and the property owner, to consider offering a town-owned site with electrical hookups or a permit-based approach, and to have police monitor traffic/cut-through issues in the short term. Councilmembers said they would pursue a meeting with all parties and consider moving food-truck activity to town-controlled spaces while the Route 31 project changes traffic flows.
Next steps: Staff will attempt outreach to the truck operators and property owner, explore whether Wilkerson Park or an adjacent town lot could be used with a permitted electricity/pay arrangement, and report back to council.
