Tempe looking to expand food truck options
May 13, 2014, 5:00 AM | Updated: 9:01 am
PHOENIX — Food on wheels may soon become more common in one East Valley city.
The city of Tempe is looking to change how it regulates food trucks by making it easier for vendors to operate on public streets and public property, including city parks, Tempe Public Library and around Tempe City Hall.
“Right now, the city code that affects the food trucks is an old code that was created for the ice cream trucks of the ’70s and other mobile vendors,” said Amanda Nelson with the City of Tempe. “Things have changed a lot since then. Food trucks have come a long way.”
If these changes are passed by the city council, Nelson said food trucks will be able to operate on private property, just like they do now.
“(Vendors) would also have to be fingerprint-checked. They would have to have a mobile vendor license and a sales tax license,” Nelson added. “It just creates checks and balances.”
Tempe does not currently have a process to allow food truck vendors on public property. The city is asking how the community feels about the proposed changes and how they would like to see food trucks operate in Tempe with an online survey.
