Walkersville planners outline changes to food‑truck rules, favor staff checklist and mapped parking

The Walkersville Planning Commission on Aug. 26 reviewed proposed amendments to local code that would clarify how food trucks and other temporary vendors are regulated, move some provisions out of the zoning chapter, and create an administrative checklist for staff-level approvals.

Susan, a town staff member, told commissioners the current language sits in chapter 88 (dating to 2004) and recommended moving the list of uses that do not require a zoning certificate into the town’s peddling and soliciting chapter so temporary vending and mobile food operations are regulated in one place. "I thought the first section, which is what says what doesn't need a zoning certificate, doesn't even need to be in zoning," she said, arguing the change would make clear that many institutional events — church bazaars, carnivals, school functions — do not require zoning approval.

Commissioners focused on two policy lines: (1) objective criteria that would allow staff to approve vendors administratively when they meet a checklist, and (2) clearer triggers for when a vendor must seek planning‑commission review or a site plan because the use is effectively permanent. "If they can meet the requirements that are currently existing in the zoning ordinance, it can be done administratively," the Chair said, noting that vendors who do not meet those requirements should come before the commission.

The draft would treat truly temporary vendors (who break down and leave nightly) differently from mobile kitchens that operate in the same place regularly. Commissioners discussed examples such as a permanently sited mobile kitchen at a commercial property and occasional vendors at events; one commissioner described two practical categories, saying some vendors are "there on a regular basis" and others are present only for a few hours or days.

Public‑safety and permitting issues were a recurring theme. The commission agreed to include the fire marshal wherever the health department permit is required to address grill/propane safety and inspection concerns. "We just need to add fire marshal wherever we have health department," the Chair said. Commissioners also noted that trailers used as food trucks can occupy multiple parking spaces and that Walkersville’s vehicles-and-traffic chapter (which currently prohibits trailers in some street locations and imposes weight limits) may need companion amendments.

Parking, traffic flow and sight lines were central to the discussion of where trucks should be allowed. Commissioners proposed creating a GIS map showing approved parking locations and limiting operations near intersections or on primary collector roads where parked trucks could obstruct travel lanes or sight distance. Susan said staff can produce a map and model examples from Frederick City’s food‑truck handbook to adapt to Walkersville’s road classifications.

Hours of operation also emerged as a zoning variable. Commissioners discussed stricter residential-hour limits and broader allowances near businesses, citing example ranges used in Frederick City for residential districts (roughly daytime/early-evening hours) and business districts (hours aligned with the host business). The commission asked staff to draft recommended hours by district.

For vendors on town property (for example Heritage Park), commissioners said the property owner’s permission is required and that some approvals should remain with the Burgess and Commissioners rather than purely administrative staff. "You're basically allowing a business to operate on town property for profit," the Chair said, and commissioners debated whether elected officials should sign off on those uses.

A member of the public, Richard Greenwood (34 West Frederick Street), asked whether private driveway events are covered and whether lunch trucks that serve commercial sites would fall under the new rules. Greenwood also reported a recent instance in which a vegetable seller on Nicodemus Road did not have the property owner’s permission; staff acknowledged that unauthorized vendors are a concern to monitor.

Next steps: staff will draft specific language, including the checklist for administrative approvals, a recommended map of allowed parking locations, proposed hours by district, and cross‑references to health and fire‑marshal permitting. Commissioners asked staff to compare county and Frederick City rules for consistency. The meeting adjourned after member comments.

Votes and formal actions at the meeting were limited: the commission approved the minutes of Aug. 12 (motion recorded as passing "4 0 1") and later moved to adjourn.