Food Trucks Coming to Jacksonville Beach?

Despite their countrywide popularity and tendency to stimulate economic development, for years food trucks have not been welcome at the beaches. With your help, this situation may be on the verge of changing in Jacksonville Beach. Additional bills in Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach may also be on the way. Here is a look at Jacksonville Beach's proposed food truck ordinance and some information on how you can help.

How You Can Help

The Jacksonville Beach planning department is requesting your opinion on the proposed legislation. You can help the process by sending an email to planning@jaxbchfl.net before April 19th and asking that they:

A) Consider allowing food trucks to set up on vacant lots (food trucks quickly and efficiently activate unused spaces)

B) Not require food trucks to be stored off site (the ordinance as written would not allow a food truck to stay on the same lot it served from overnight, meaning if you owned a commercial lot and a food truck, you would have to take your food truck off that very same lot overnight if you used your OWN property to serve from that day).  Earlier this year the State of Florida passed a law the food trucks no longer require a commissary if they can provide their own fresh water daily, this eliminates the need for food trucks to leave the site of service unecessarily.

C) Require private property owners to apply for a permit to host a food truck regardless if their underlying zoning already allows for the use of the sale/service of food by right  (this creates an unnecessary administrattive and financial burden for commercial property owners who have already been granted that right by Jax Beach's comp plan).

Article by Mike Field
Title image courtesy of Eat Drink Jax.