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Tetonia council tables food-truck code amendment after public hearing
Summary
After a public hearing on Amy Ortiz’s application to allow year-round food-truck operations without CUPs, councilmembers debated requiring design review versus Conditional Use Permits for Food Truck Courts and voted unanimously to table the proposal for further work on standards and infrastructure requirements.
A proposed change to Tetonia’s food-truck rules that would let food trucks operate year-round and avoid Conditional Use Permits was tabled by the city council on March 10, 2026.
Applicant Amy Ortiz asked the council to allow food trucks to operate 365 days a year and to remove the CUP requirement, saying food trucks should only require a design review. Planning staff member Ashley Koehler told the council the amendment “could and would potentially affect the entire City” and explained that the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended defining both “Food Truck” and “Food Truck Court” and suggested allowing Food Truck Courts with standards to be reviewed.
Several members of the public and local operators spoke in favor of fewer site-specific requirements. Kevin Mayberry urged standardized, citywide requirements so operators face the same rules across jurisdictions. Food-truck court operator Jon Barlow said he has operated a food-truck court in Tetonia and urged minimal additional regulation, saying he has met the city’s aesthetic expectations and expects “up to 6 trucks operating by the summer of 2026” and additional sales tax revenue if allowed to continue and expand.
Jon Barlow was accompanied by land-use attorney Herb Heimerl, who argued Food Truck Courts could be handled through a design-review process with a tailored standards list rather than requiring a CUP for each site.
Council discussion focused on two main trade-offs: a CUP provides site-specific review and can require infrastructure improvements (and stays with the land if property ownership changes), while a design review is typically limited to aesthetics and is handled by Planning and Zoning without a public hearing. Councilman Aaron Hansen pressed for standards that protect city infrastructure — wastewater, power and drinking-water connections — noting that centralized utilities at Food Truck Courts would better safeguard the city system. Councilwoman Mandy Rasmussen raised winter operations concerns, including freezing water lines, and suggested that year-round use raises additional sanitation and ADA-restroom requirements.
Because members sought more time to craft specific standards, Councilman Kody Hill moved to table the amendment so staff and council can refine the proposal; Councilmember Mandy Rasmussen seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Next steps: the item will return to council after additional work on code language, including consideration of whether Food Truck Courts should be required to obtain a CUP, what infrastructure and sanitation standards to mandate, and how an annual business-license review would be applied to courts and standalone trucks.
