Athens council sends food-truck and mobile-vendor zoning changes to planning commission
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Summary
Council approved a resolution directing a change to the zoning ordinance that would carve out an exception allowing the city to adopt specific rules for food trucks and to permit mobile tool-vending operations; the change was referred to the planning commission for recommendation and eventual council action.
The Athens City Council unanimously approved a resolution proposing amendments to the zoning ordinance to allow the council to adopt a specific regulatory approach for food trucks and to clarify that mobile tool-vending operations may operate under defined conditions.
City Attorney Black explained the zoning ordinance currently contains a broad restriction on mobile vending. The proposed resolution would remove food trucks from that general restriction and enable the council to adopt a focused ordinance addressing food-truck operations, locations and licensing. The change would also explicitly allow mobile tool vendors (companies that sell tools/equipment from trucks at customer sites) to operate under the zoning code rather than being subject to the general restriction.
Councilmembers asked whether food trucks could sell alcoholic beverages; staff explained that sales of alcohol from a food truck would require a special-event license and would have to occur within a permitted/licensed area under the city’s alcohol regulations and ABC rules. The council approved the resolution 4–0 and will forward the proposed zoning amendment to the planning commission for recommendation before a future return to council.