Haines City officials to try fresh approach to food truck laws after bitter backlash

HAINES CITY ― Haines City officials have agreed to take a fresh approach to regulating the city's food trucks after a first attempt left local small-business owners with a sour aftertaste.

The Haines City commission voted 4-0 Thursday night to kill its first draft of new regulations on mobile food truck vendors, with Commissioner Vernel Smith recusing himself from all discussions citing a conflict of interest.

The decision came after an hourlong workshop in which numerous small-business and property owners asked city officials to pull back on implementing new regulations that, many said, would practically ban food trucks from legally operating within city limits.

"Our intent was to address concerns brought to this party's attention by many constituents and lawfully regulate this business in a fair and practical manner," Mayor Ron Tyler said.

The Ledger asked Haines City staff for any complaints submitted regarding food trucks, or mobile food vendors, within the past six months via email or handwritten letter. Lucia Santa Cruz-Gonzalez, the city's public-records specialist, said there have not been any complaints.

The sole voice of opposition was Sharon Garrett, who lives in an unincorporated are adjacent to the city limits. Garrett said a food truck has been parking adjacent to property boundaries, causing customers to park and walk on her land, and getting its grease trap serviced on her property. She has concerns about potentially being sued and held liable if there's a future accident.

Garrett's concerns wouldn't have been addressed by Haines City's first draft ordinance that would have required a minimum of 150-feet between food trucks and any other food sales, including restaurants, drive-ins, fast food and concessions stands. They pushed forward with one change: changing 150 to 500 feet.

"The 500 feet is almost one and one-quarter football fields. To have that distance between a food truck and any food-selling business would be detrimental and would essentially outlaw food trucks," said Haines City resident Laura Moore, whose husband operates Smokin' Oak BBQ & Catering.

'It has to do with rules being enforced'

The mayor and city commissioners repeatedly said that, contrary to public misconception, Haines City is not seeking to put food trucks out of business.

"We were shutting down those that were not in compliance, we have many who have come and put their food trucks without coming to the city to check if the land regulations allow," Vice Mayor Omar Arroyo said. "It's not fair for anybody else who follows the rules."

Haines City passed its own ordinance governing mobile food vendors in 2018, two years before a state law was implemented in 2020 and updated in 2022. One of the key sticking points is when Haines City made a lengthy series of changes to its Land Development Code on May 18, 2023. At that time, it added a requirement for food trucks to have three parking spaces set aside for its customers.

A review of the city's latest food truck inspections shows 49 businesses in the area, with 32 currently known to be active. Of those 32, the city's code enforcement has noted only six currently meet the three-space requirement.

"It has nothing to do with restrictions, it has to do with rules being enforced," the mayor said. But, roughly half of the active food trucks in Haines City received their business tax receipt, or license to operate, prior to May — when the parking requirement went into effect.

Michael Blasco, CEO — short for Chief Eating Officer — of Tampa Bay Food Trucks, said he could understand the city's parking requirement if there was a shortage of downtown parking. But he questioned whether it was necessary. Blasso objected to proposals calling for a limit of one food truck per lot and limitation on hours of operation.

"You can't treat food trucks differently just because they have a different model or look different," he told commissioners.

Are the rules unconstitutional?

Katrin Marquez, a lawyer with the Institute for Justice, spoke on behalf of several Haines City food truck operators before the commission Thursday night. Marquez said she believes many of the proposed city regulations were unconstitutional.

"Destroying the vibrant food truck culture that has developed here organically will not help restaurants. That's because the presence of food trucks helps a city's restaurant industry by attracting more customers to commercial areas," she said.

Marquez cited Hollywood, Florida, where she said local lawmakers at one point restricted food truck operations to a select portion of the city and certain hours, like Monday nights when many traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants are closed.

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Hollywood food trucks brought so much foot traffic to commercial areas of the city, Marquez said sit-down restaurants began opening on Monday nights to capture some of the business.

Marquez said her nonprofit law firm would be willing to work with Haines City staff to draft regulations that were fair and practical, not an undue burden on food truck operators.

Lakeland resident Christopher Diaz, who owns multiple downtown Haines City business properties, said he's in support of food trucks being allowed in the downtown area.

"I've been very invested in the growth of the central business district of Haines City for the last five years, over which time we've seen almost zero positive growth," he said. "A lot of that has to do with overregulation and government involvement in restricting businesses in where they can go and what they can do. To me, this is another example of it."

Haines City officials appear to have varying appetites when it comes to how much food trucks should be regulated.

"I believe we will get to the point where it's fair for the brick-and-mortar restaurants as well as the food trucks," Commissioner Ann Huffman said.

By contrast, Commissioner Morris West said he would be in favor of repealing the city's ordinances in favor of adopting and enforcing the state statute.

Three officials, Tyler, Huffman and Arroyo, asked City Attorney Fred Reilly to draft a new ordinance with additional requirements to be considered at a later city commission workshop.

"If your business is within the rules this body intends to set, you will have absolutely no problem," Tyler said. "Those rules will not be excessively restrictive."

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Will Haines City impose new rules on food trucks? It's wait and see