Council weighs allowing businesses to store food trucks on private property, pilots timed parking on Main Street

Councilman Butler asked the New Port Richey council at a workshop to amend the city's mobile food vendor ordinance so businesses can store food trucks on private property when the truck is an asset of the same business and the site will not interfere with parking or rights-of-way. "If a business that's here has a mobile food unit as an asset of their business, is registered to the same LLC, and they can accommodate the space, our ordinance shouldn't prevent them from parking it on their private property," Butler said.

City Manager Manns said staff would work with the city attorney to draft language if the council gave clear direction. "We just need to know what your wishes are," Manns told the council, adding the attorney can craft enforceable language when council provides guidance.

The council's discussion repeatedly returned to enforceability, aesthetics and competition with brick-and-mortar businesses. One member warned that allowing visible, decorated trucks could operate as roadside advertising or effectively convert many private lots into rotating truck hubs, and suggested limiting storage to alleys or rear lots. Butler acknowledged the risk of abuse and asked staff to explore zoning-based limits, ownership verification and caps per business.

Legal constraints came up: a council member cited Florida Statute 509.102, saying state law preempts local licensing of mobile food dispensing vehicles and governs where and when trucks may operate. "We can't regulate or license a food truck," the member said, noting the difference between the state's control of operation and local ability to regulate parking, signage and use of private property.

Police and staff input flagged practical concerns. The police chief said the city had handled prior issues through existing rules and that the city can enforce encroachments into the right-of-way, unsafe placement of lines across sidewalks, and other public-safety problems. "We used to have some issues, but we've worked through them with our ordinances with state law, so I'm not seeing a huge problem downtown now," the chief said.

Members also proposed a separate but related, near-term measure: convert existing "no trailer parking" signs on parts of the Main Street corridor to time-limited parking (examples discussed were one, two or three hours) as a pilot to rotate parking, limit permanent vehicle storage and free up spaces for shoppers. Council members suggested starting where signs already exist (River Road to Bank Street) and extending to Grand in a trial, soliciting input from affected businesses and monitoring results (staff suggested measuring by enforcement checks, phone and email complaints and visual checks such as chalking tires).

The council did not take a formal vote. Instead, members directed staff to work with the city attorney on draft ordinance language that would permit storage tied to the owning business where legally permissible and to develop a timed-parking pilot and measurement plan for Main Street. One council member suggested staff report back in about six months with findings; the workshop concluded without action and the council adjourned.

The discussion focused on balancing support for local businesses that own mobile units with protecting parking for brick-and-mortar merchants, preserving downtown aesthetics and ensuring enforceability under state law. The council asked staff and the attorney to return with recommended ordinance text and a pilot plan for timed parking.