News

Virginia city considers new food truck rules

December 31, 2018

The Williamsburg, Virginia, planning commission unanimously approved an ordinance to allow food trucks to operate in downtown, midtown and on High Street with a special-use permit, in addition to a limited number of events on private property, according to the Virginia City Gazette.

The plan creates a 100-foot buffer between brick-and-mortar restaurants and food trucks downtown. Food trucks will have to pay a $50 permit application fee for each event in commercial districts, and the fire department will have to inspect trucks to issue a business license for each day the truck is in operation for such events. Food trucks would also be permitted in residential areas for a maximum two special events per year.

The city presently allows food trucks to operate on public property through a special-use permit reviewed and approved by the city manager's office. Food trucks are also permitted in the Culinary Arts District along Capitol Landing Road from Colonial Parkway to Merrimac Trail.

Carolyn Murphy, director of the city's planning department, said the city council recently approved Colonial Williamsburg's Palace Farms as the site of an outdoor event venue that would also allow food trucks with a special use permit.