Food trucks: Council adopts new rules but with some restrictions

TORONTO  – City council has approved new regulations on food trucks in the city by a vote of 34-3.

Adam Vaughan, Denzil Minnan-Wong and David Shiner were the three councillors to vote against adopting the new regulations.

The city’s new program will allow food trucks to operate on city streets.

But there are several restrictions placed on truck operators:

• They can’t be within 50 metres of a restaurant
• Trucks are prohibited from being operated within BIA zones during special events
• Council will issue no more than 125 permits over the next year (there’s currently 27)
• Trucks can’t be within 30 metres of schools and 25 metres from sidewalk vending areas
• They can only park for a maximum of 3 hours in one spot

Zane Caplansky, a restaurant and food truck owner, took issue with the proposed 50 metre prohibition during an interview on The Morning Show earlier this week.

“Fifty metres means no trucks in downtown Toronto. That’s what it means,” he said.“The restaurant lobby has been pushing against food trucks because they are afraid the food trucks will steal their business.”