FORT SMITH (KFSM)- City leaders may change the way it regulates food trucks in Fort Smith. The City Planning Commission met Monday (March 30) at the Creekmore Park Community Center to talk about amendments to make to a drafted proposed ordinance, which would extend vendor permits to a year and could bring food trucks to downtown.
"We currently do not allow any mobile food vending to set up in the downtown," Wally Bailey, Director of Developmental Services for Fort Smith said. "That's one of the very important things we tried to get something worked out where we can allow more mobile food vending in the downtown."
“If they allow the downtown area to have these food trucks, I hope that that will cause the foot traffic, which would help the vendors and sales tax revenue and the downtown area altogether,” Micah Bubbus, owner Patrick’s Butcher Boy Burgers said.
Bubbus started his business in a food truck, but now operates a brick and mortar restaurant.
“It just provides a greater variety for economic businesses and people to operate businesses,” Bailey said.
Once they make a final revision, the document will be sent to the Board of Directors for a work session and then a vote at their regular meeting.
“We have an ordinance now that allows food trucks, which we think is a very restrictive ordinance, so we`re trying to put something in place that is a little less restrictive to allow for more vendors to operate in a mobile environment in Fort Smith,” Bailey, Director said.
If the new ordinance is adopted by the Board of Directors, it would allow food truck vendors to renew their permits annually instead of every 120 days.
“The fact that they`re gonna go to one year permits is an excellent idea,” Hari Paizis, food vendor said.
Paizis is the owner of Gyros located at 4900 Rogers Ave.
Bailey said a final draft of the ordinance should make it to the Board of Directors by May.