Lopez Village panel recommends exception to food‑truck movement rule for trucks run by adjacent restaurants

The Lopez Village Planning Review Committee recommended an exception to the village’s food‑truck movement rules so that a certified food truck operated by the same people as an adjacent restaurant may remain next to that restaurant.

The committee discussed the issue after county building staff told members that San Juan County has not adopted the temporary‑use section of the International Building Code/International Residential Code and that the land‑use code text does not explicitly label “food truck” in some subarea plan language. Chris Jones, the county building official, said the fire code and state rules also affect where mobile food units can be located. "There's not really a permit process on the building side for food trucks," Jones said, and that created ambiguity for county reviewers.

Barbara Thomas, a committee member who reviewed the Lopez Village plan, pointed the group to a mobile‑food vending section in the code and summarized what the village plan envisioned, including limits on proximity to restaurant entrances and time limits in certain settings. The committee discussed an active application for "El Taco Bout" and whether the county could fast‑track approval given the restaurant‑use context.

Thomas moved that the committee recommend making "an exception to the required movement of food trucks under the condition that the food truck is operated by the same person as the adjacent restaurant," and a fellow committee member seconded the motion. Chair Kenny called for a vote and the committee approved the recommendation unanimously.

The recommendation is advisory: staff will take the committee’s advice back to county decision makers for any formal code interpretation or permit changes. Committee members asked staff to clarify applicable fire‑code setbacks, time limits in the subarea plan, and whether the county’s health department requirements carry separate conditions for mobile vendors. The building official noted the fire code may require greater separation than the land‑use text’s five‑foot rule and said staff would proceed with the file in light of the committee’s recommendation.

The committee’s action affects one pending application and may prompt a staff review of how the county’s development code and building/fire regulations intersect for mobile food vendors.