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Council asks staff to draft mobile food‑truck overlay district for targeted activation, tax capture
Summary
After a lengthy discussion about food trucks and sidewalk activation, the council directed staff to draft an overlay district to permit mobile food vendors in specified areas — notably the Osborne Shopping Center site — with provisions to capture local sales tax and limit competitive impacts on existing restaurants.
East Ridge council members directed staff to prepare a draft overlay district to govern mobile food trucks and similar pop-up vendors, with the first candidate area identified as the Osborne Shopping Center redevelopment site.
City manager/staff presenter Mike Miller outlined concerns that unrestricted food-truck permitting can harm brick-and-mortar restaurants and deprive the city of property-based tax benefits. Miller told council that the city’s draft language currently would allow mobile food vehicles on private property in commercial, office, industrial and mixed-use zones with a permit and property-owner permission; several council members said they want a narrower, designated overlay approach instead.
Miller said the overlay district could be applied to one or more areas the council selects and would be processed like a rezoning (public hearings and a formal application). He proposed using the overlay approach to limit operations to sites where the council wants to encourage pop-up activation rather than opening every commercial parcel citywide.
Sales-tax capture and border-region implications led to extended discussion. Staff explained that Tennessee sources sales tax to the location of the sale; if the food vendor’s sales occur within the city’s border-region district, the sales would be sourced to East Ridge regardless of the vendor’s business license location. Council asked staff to include mechanisms in permitting to track sales and tax reporting for vendors operating in any overlay district so the city can document border-region sales.
Practical permit issues raised included whether trucks must provide employee restroom access when on a site longer than three hours (the draft required toilets or alternatives such as portable facilities), annual fees (the draft showed a $200 location-specific permit per property plus $100 per vehicle per year), and special-event allowances and grandfathering for ancillary on-site cooking by brick-and-mortar businesses. Council members requested clear language to exclude incidental grills or temporary trailers used by an existing business from mobile-truck rules.
Several council members supported an overlay that would allow “pop-up” activation — food trucks, market vendors and occasional events — but would prevent food trucks from permanently setting up on vacant lots in direct competition with existing full-time restaurants. Staff said they would return with a draft overlay ordinance and implementing permitting rules for council review.
Developer Jimmy White, who presented earlier on the Osborne Shopping Center, described the food-truck idea as a possible weekend activation and said he envisioned family-friendly events rather than alcohol-focused gatherings. “I would not imagine opening containers and things like that…I’m thinking more family friendly,” White said.
Direction to staff: council members signaled agreement with the overlay approach and asked staff to prepare a draft mobile food‑truck overlay district, including permit requirements, tax-reporting mechanisms and provisions for special events. No formal ordinance vote was taken; staff will present the draft for future council consideration.
