Oberlin Council favors rolling back heavy-handed food truck rules

OBERLIN — Tight restrictions on food trucks could be eased as City Council looks for ways to get customers back into Oberlin. Other cities have found ways to make wheeled taco stands, barbecue joints and burger bars work, said Sylvan Long of the city's Community Improvement Corp. Oberlin limited its own success by passing heavy-handed rules in 2017. After long months of debate, it allowed food trucks to set up shop at special events or under limited conditions on private property. Some local food trucks do exist, Long said — Steel Magnolia is one success story — but there are "not a whole lot when you compare it to other cities." The CIC asked Council on Monday to rework its rules by creating "food truck zones" where vendors can operate on a regular basis. "If you can only operate at special events, it's not really a viable business," Long said. Potential spots include North Main Street along Tappan Square, a parking lot between City Hall and Martin Luther King Jr. Park as well as the George Abram Pavilion on South Main Street. Those areas have been vetted for safety, aren't directly in front of brick-and-mortar restaurants and have proper setbacks, Long said. The plan calls for detailed rules about hours of operation and how large vehicles can be. City Council members voiced majority support, seeing it as a way to kick-start food tourism. "It still seems like we're trying everything we can to stop food trucks from coming to town," said Councilman Kelley Singleton — Oberlin needs to be "more food truck friendly" to win visitors, he said. Long agreed. He said the CIC looked at Athens and Columbus as models for how food trucks should be regulated and saw them help the cities' economies. "I really believe that food trucks bring more people, and making Oberlin more of a destination than it already is will really help all of our businesses," he said. Long also argued that food trucks, with lower start-up costs, are a way to level the playing field for minority business owners. It's important for nonwhite entrepreneurs to get a leg up, he said, and Oberlin should think about equity and inclusion in economic development decisions. That brought agreement from Councilman Ray English: "I think we as a community need to look carefully and consistently for ways to overcome the racial wealth gap that exists in our community," he said. Others, like Councilwoman Mary Price, said food trucks have a practical purpose that went unrealized until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She said their presence in town was missed when sit-down dining was closed statewide in the spring. If Council acts quickly, food trucks could be a good selling point for Oberlin when the pandemic is over, Singleton said. By unanimous vote, the CIC plan was referred to the city's Planning and Development Department for ordinance revisions to be drafted. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.