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Port Aransas council approves cell‑coverage summit partnership, trails grant, dune permit and new food‑truck rules
Summary
Council voted unanimously to partner with the Chamber for a fall 2026 cell‑coverage summit, awarded a TPWD recreational trails contract, extended a beachfront dune permit for Palmia, and adopted updated mobile food vendor ordinances and zoning rules.
At its June 18 meeting, the Port Aransas City Council approved a package of administrative and regulatory items affecting public infrastructure, coastal permitting and mobile food vendors.
Cell‑coverage summit: Council authorized a partnership with the Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce to host a cell‑coverage communication summit in September 2026 designed to bring major carriers and local emergency management officials together to address persistent dead zones. Staff said carriers including AT&T, Verizon and T‑Mobile had agreed to participate and that AT&T had committed to a temporary tower at a city site to address one dead zone.
Trails grant: The council awarded the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Recreational Trails Grant work to Gerky Excavating as the low bidder for repairs and widening of trails damaged after Hurricane Harvey, including work near the baseball complex and a connection to the Charlie’s Pasture fishing pier. Staff said the grant covers 80% of the project with a required 20% local match drawn from prior recovery funding.
Dune permit extension: Council confirmed that a dune protection permit for KM Beach LLC (Palmia, 3900 block of State Highway 361) will be extended so the applicant can complete about 1,600 cubic yards of mitigation and revegetation work originally permitted in 2022; staff said they met with the Texas General Land Office on site and GLO supports the plan.
Food‑truck rules and zoning: Council adopted the final (third) readings of ordinances revising Chapter 12 (licenses & business regulations) and Chapter 25 (zoning) to establish site authorization, parking, waste management and noise standards for mobile food vendors. City staff emphasized that state mobile food licensing requirements also apply and that property owners must obtain site authorization for vendors to operate on private property.
Votes and tallies: Council recorded unanimous roll‑call approvals on these items during the meeting; no recorded no‑votes were reported in the transcript for the motions. Staff will circulate implementation guidance for mobile vendors and reach out to existing operators to ensure compliance with the July 1 state licensing change.
What to watch next: Staff will return with project maps and final construction details for the trails project and will provide educational outreach materials to short‑term rental operators and businesses about the new mobile food authorizations.
