A taco food truck that used to be located just east of the CVS parking lot on U.S. 52 was forced to move because it was closer than 300 feet to a brick building that serves food. The New Palestine Town Council is working to change the ordinance and find a place for food trucks to gather in town.
NEW PALESTINE — Officials with the Town of New Palestine continue to ponder what changes, if any, they need to make to their current food truck ordinance.
The issue has been lingering for several months after someone brought up the ordinance back in 2023.
The council, which has four new members this year, held a public hearing Tuesday evening where nearly 20 people showed up to discuss the issue with town officials. Following the meeting, council president Teri Reed and council vice president Bill Niemier noted they’d like to see the town come up with a designated area for food trucks to park rather than allowing the trucks to park on U.S. 52 due to safety concerns surrounding heavy traffic issues.
“The hardest thing of all this is no matter what the final wording is we have to uniformly enforce it,” Niemier said. “That’s probably the biggest challenge because as written there really isn’t any place in town you can have a food truck, or very few places.”
The current ordinance notes food trucks can’t be parked within 300 feet of a brick and mortar business that serves food. During the public hearing council members said that distance should be changed to perhaps 200 feet with the stipulation if the brick and mortar business doesn’t mind the food truck being near, their presence would be O.K.
“I really like that idea,” Niemier said.
Council member Ryan Hartley measured the distance from the lone food truck that used to park in town to the front of a stationary food business and noted it was just over 100 feet which violated the town’s current ordinance.
While Hartley noted the truck was in violation and move, the owner could have found another place in town to set up. Hartley said he has no problem with food trucks and does support them coming to town with some minor limitations.
“We’re trying to find that balance,” Hartley said. “Food trucks are temporary and don’t need to be there eight months out of the year.”
Clerk treasurer Yvonne Jonas noted enforcement of the ordinance is with the town officials, and not the New Palestine Police Department. Jonas told the council she is one who has to work with food truck operators to make sure they understand the paperwork and have all the proper permits they need, while town manager Jim Robinson would be the one to handle enforcement if food trucks are in violation.
Jonas asked the council to consider those factors when getting a new food truck ordinance together.
Council member Ethan Maple said he’s open to food trucks in town, especially during special gatherings and festivals. However, he would prefer those organizations who host events come in and talk with town officials about bringing in food trucks rather than town officials just issuing a blanketed special exception notice for food trucks during events.
“I want to build those relationships with the town,” Maple said.
Officials with the town then noted the New Palestine Lions Club would be the ideal place for all food trucks who want to come to town to gather on a regular basis to park, if Lions Club officials would get on board.
Niemier said he’d take the lead on reaching out to Lions Club officials and see if they’d be willing to get on board and allow their parking lot to be used. However, should Lions Club officials balk at the idea, a community member suggested using a gravel parking lot near Town Hall due to the fact Town Hall also has a fairly large parking lot which could be utilized by patrons wishing to visit a food truck. But, Robinson noted that might not work due to the fact a pizza place is just across the street too close for the current ordinance or even an altered one.
“We still have a lot of homework to do on this issue,” Reed said. “Unfortunately, the new council was left to deal with this issue and we’re going to.”
Town officials noted they are also taking their time to see how other town’s have handled the food truck issue due to the fact New Palestine really doesn’t have a foot print for dealing with food trucks in the area.
Council officials said they hope to have a rough draft to look over by the next council meeting at the end of the month.
