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Food‑truck operators urge rollback of private‑property restriction; alderman moves to revisit ordinance
Summary
Food‑truck owners told council an amendment restricting vendors from selling to customers on private property harms business and employees; Alderman Turner moved to repeal the private‑property restriction and asked staff to study additional vendor parking locations outside downtown.
Owners of Waukegan food trucks told the city council on April 6 that an amendment to the city's food‑vendor ordinance — which now restricts food trucks from selling directly to customers on private property — has harmed their ability to serve employees and customers at private employment sites.
Graciella Booker, co‑owner of a food truck, told the council her business regularly serves employees on short lunch breaks at private workplaces and said the amended ordinance now forces property owners to pay or otherwise arrange for vendor services. "It is unfair and unjust that you're requesting companies pay for their staff as well as customers to eat at the food vendors they want to be there," she said during public comment.
Alderman Turner, who said he had voted previously against the restrictions, moved to repeal the portion of the ordinance that prevents food trucks from selling to private‑property customers and to consider removing or adjusting restrictions on parking vendor trucks on city property. The motion was recognized by the mayor and placed for committee consideration; staff said the matter would be brought forward for formal ordinance review.
Several speakers also asked the city to increase designated vendor locations beyond downtown and the beach to better serve neighborhoods and workplaces.
What happens next: Alderman Turner asked that the council direct staff to draft ordinance language to restore private‑property sales with appropriate safeguards and to evaluate additional vendor spaces in parks and other public‑property locations. The item will be scheduled for committee review and possible ordinance amendment.
