Second ordinance amendment proposed to avoid conflict

By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
LAKE ORION — The Lake Orion Village Council introduced ordinance amendments on July 22, that would regulate where a food truck could be located and for how long if adopted.
Multiple definition changes and other rules were proposed to be added to the village code on mobile food establishments.
“The gist of these changes was to simply modify the time and place that a food truck … could be placed,” Council President Jerry Narsh said. “In other words, if a food truck were to receive their license in January, which is good for a 12-month period, January to December, that food truck couldn’t sit on the side of the road or in a gas station parking lot for 12 months.”
Narsh said none of the other regulations are changed, and the amendments do not affect catering services.
Village Manager Darwin McClary answered food truck owners’ questions to clarify what is considered catering – saying that mobile caterers are delivering a product as an Amazon delivery van would.
“We are allowing caterers to deliver to private businesses,” McClary said. “If you are going to engage in the activity of selling or serving food from your mobile truck, that is regulated under this ordinance.”
McClary also advised a resident to contact the village to determine if their activity falls under the ordinance.
“This ordinance does allow for mobile food establishments to place their vehicle on private property to service parties or what have you, but the time is limited,” McClary said. “It’s limited to three days for private events.”
Other text and definition changes to the ordinance are listed in council documents as follows.
Village events are now called “public village events.” These events are now defined as “events coordinated or sponsored by the village and located within the village or designated as such by resolution of the Village Council that lasts no longer than five (5) days.”
The “general provisions” section states mobile food establishments must receive property owner’s permission to operate, and includes two additional rules.
The first reads “approval for each mobile food establishment in an event, whether public or private, must receive prior written approval from the event organizer/sponsor, and must be parked and located within the defined event space.” The second reads “mobile food trucks cannot park within the village limits, unless within the approved event space.”
A second ordinance amendment – this one to the commercial vehicles ordinance – was introduced to avoid conflicting regulations with the first amendment.
Currently, commercial vehicles with an unloaded total weight over 5,000 pounds are not allowed to operate on local streets. If adopted, it would allow food trucks with an unloaded total weight of over 5,000 pounds to be operated on local streets.
The ordinances will be considered for adoption at the Village Council’s Aug. 26, meeting.