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The Lexington City Planning Commission is proposing an amendment to the language of the city’s mobile restaurant zoning ordinance to allow mobile restaurants, like food trucks, to operate in Jordans Point Park and Brewbaker Field Sports Complex, so long as they enter into a written agreement with the city.
The Planning Commission first discussed the possibility of amending the ordinance at its Feb. 22 meeting, with the discussion stemming from potentially amending the use matrix to allow mobile restaurants to be a by-right use in the city’s Parks and Open Spaces (P-OS) zoning districts.
The city currently allows mobile restaurants as a by-right use in the C-1, C-2 and Residential-Light Commercial (R-LC) zoning districts only and does not require a written agreement with the city for the mobile restaurant to operate in those zoning districts, though they do have to get permission from the owner of any privately owned property they wish to operate on.
Commission Chair Pat Bradley noted that the only public parks within the city where food trucks could operate within the park were Jordans Point and Brewbaker, that at the city’s other parks, the food truck would have to operate from the street.
City planner Arne Glaeser clarified that zoning district boundaries extend to the middle of the street, but added that the regulations could be written to limit in which parks the use was allowed.
Commissioner Leslie Straughan advocated for some sort of permitting process for food trucks to operate at the city’s parks, noting that food truck operators “can’t just pull into the pool if the pool doesn’t want you there.
“I do like the idea of allowing them, but it seems like they [should] have to go through the city to get a permit,” she said.
Straughan also noted that she was uncomfortable with allowing mobile restaurants as a by-right use in the P-OS zoning districts and highlighted the inappropriateness of food trucks operating at the city’s cemeteries. The members of the Planning Commission expressed general agreement for continued consideration of allowing mobile restaurants at some of the city’s parks and Glaeser said that he would put together some draft language for the Commission to consider at a future meeting.
That language was presented at the Commission’s meeting on April 11. The only amendments to the zoning ordinance that were proposed were to add a third option to the list of where mobile restaurants could operate.
In addition to public, commercially zoned property and private, commercially zoned property (with the owner’s permission), mobile restaurants would be permitted in Jordans Point Park and Brewbaker Field Sports Complex with a written agreement from the city. All other requirements for a food truck would remain the same within the ordinance.
Glaeser also proposed an amendment to the use matrix to make mobile restaurants a by-right use in the P-OS zoning districts, with a note clarifying that the by-right usage only applied to Jordans Point Park and Brewbaker Field and so long as the owner had a written agreement with the city. The written agreements would be processed through the city manager’s office and would be approved by City Council.
The Planning Commission approved the language and agreed to move forward with advertising for a public hearing at a future meeting.
