How involved should municipal officials be in regulating competition among business owners? That is the question Amherst leaders are grappling with now, as those who operate mobile food stations, such as food trucks, seek better access to potential customers downtown.
The town has rules it set three years ago that include a $100 annual permit fee, a limit on the number of trucks and sidewalk carts allowed and restrictions on where they can park — for trucks, that is on the periphery of the core business area.
A request by one food truck owner to relax the rules has been considered by the Select Board and the interim town manager and been sent along to Geoffrey Kravitz, Amherst’s new economic development director. He has been asked to research the issue — including talking to those directly affected — and make recommendations for the board.
That seems like a wise approach, as long as Kravitz works quickly. Select Board Chairwoman Alissa Brewer asked for a report by July 25, but she acknowledges it may take longer to get enough information for officials to decide whether changes are warranted. Kravitz, she says, may need to make field trips to observe successful “food truck cultures” in other communities.
Let’s hope the study fares better than one proposed in Northampton three years ago. Food trucks are barred from the central business district. At a meeting in September 2013, city councilors made similar arguments for and against making regulations friendlier to mobile food units and seemed eager to get more information on the matter. But so far, nothing has materialized.
It makes sense for Amherst’s economic development director to weigh in, since his conclusions presumably would be objective, taking established restaurant owners’ interests into account as well as the overall health of the downtown area. Proponents of food trucks and sidewalk carts say these mobile units add a festive air to a business district, serving as a draw to foot traffic.
They claim they tap into a different clientele than established restaurants — those looking for a quick, cheap bite to eat as they stroll sidewalks.
Both sides have their beefs: Restaurant owners say the mobile carts are unfair competition because they are free from expenses that stationary businesses face, including mortgages or rent payments and property taxes.
But truck and cart owners have their own challenges. They cite the vagaries of weather, truck maintenance and repairs and expenses connected to food preparation off-site as their burdens.
Customers find both types of food service appealing. Who doesn’t like the idea of a having a wide variety of inexpensive grab-and-go selections available a few steps from the office, as well as the option of sitting down to a leisurely meal in a comfortable, weather-protected environment?
In Amherst, restrictions in place are said to have put a damper on the number of people seeking the six permits allowed. Two of those restrictions: food trucks must set up outside of the core downtown area, and vendors cannot reserve parking spaces for their trucks ahead of time.
Sun Kim, who sells Korean cuisine from a truck, is pressing for changes to the regulations. Four sidewalk carts are allowed by town rules, but there is only one such permitted business operating, New York Halal, a popular stand that has found a long-time niche on North Pleasant Street near the Unitarian Society.
Making a go of it as a small business owner is difficult. And we understand the concerns of established eateries trying to protect their investments.
We think there’s a way to benefit the whole community – and look forward to Kravitz’s report.