Reno City Council Approves Mobile Food Truck Regulations

The Reno City Council unanimously approved regulations to mobile food vendors in the city at a slated city council meeting on Wednesday. The new regulations will require vendors to be at least 100 feet away from the front door of a business, to close at 11 pm(unless the truck is parked in one of the city's 24 hours zones) and to move trucks every four hours. The city of Reno, led by Alex Woodley, the city's Code Enforcement Manager, had recommended food trucks change locations every three hours. However, the city council agreed to allow trucks to move ever four hours at the request of some local vendors who attended the city council meeting. Reno city staffers had decided in 2011 to create some regulations after they received complaints from local businesses that mobile truck vendors were hurting their business. But local food vendors were unhappy with the proposed regulations and over two dozen vendors protested the proposals. Vendors claimed the rules would hurt their businesses and make it difficult to make a living. Edward Vento, executive director of Nevada Hispanic Services, says food vendors were already negatively impacted by the depression in construction. At Wednesday's meeting he said many vendors depended on revenue from workers on construction sites. The ordinance will be read for a second time on February 8th.