Le Sueur enacts new rules for food trucks

With food trucks continuing to grow in popularity, the city of Le Sueur has introduced new licensing requirements aimed at protecting consumer health as well as brick and mortar restaurants from mobile competition.

Under the new code of regulations, approved by the City Council on Monday, food truck operators will be required to seek a license from the city and undergo a background check conducted by city staff before serving meals in town.

“There’s a lot that food trucks can add to the vibrancy of a community, there’s no doubt about that,” said City Administrator Joe Roby. “But staff’s recommendation is that there should at least be some basic guidelines in place for how those businesses operate in the community as there are ordinances and laws for every other business that operates in the community.”

Many of the regulations are geared toward providing the city greater liability protection in the event of an accident or injury involving a food truck. Licensees will be required to hold a certificate of insurance, undergo a background check and provide a permit issued by the Minnesota Department of Health or Department of Agriculture. Licensed trucks must also keep their proof of license on display.

Another major component of the ordinance is its focus on protecting restaurants from having to compete with nearby food trucks. Mobile food units are prohibited from parking within 500 feet of a restaurant without the owner’s written permission, unless the truck has been hired for a city-sponsored event. Food trucks must also receive written consent before operating within a private lot or at a private residence.

Some of the notable regulations prohibit vendors from operating on the same property for more than 21 days in a given year; bars the sale of food at night between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. and restricts nuisance behaviors such calling attention with loud noises or leaving the truck in authorized locations outside the hours of operations. Those who violate any provision of the ordinance would be guilty of misdemeanor punishable by fine and/or a jail sentence not to exceed 90 days.

The ordinance was approved one year after the Le Sueur City Council’s first attempt at regulating food trucks was met with backlash from food truck and restaurant owners and event coordinators raising concerns that the regulations would hinder the ability of food trucks to operate in Le Sueur and participate in community events.

One of the most common complaints raised were that the background checks required by the city were excessive and could prevent a food truck from quickly receiving a license before an upcoming event. City staff responded by scaling the proposed background checks on all food truck workers to include just the applicant.

The new ordinance also allows food trucks to connect to the city’s electric utilities during city-sponsored events like Giant Days after the City Council received complaints that food trucks at multi-day events would be forced to bring their own generators and run up their own costs.

In addition, the ordinance allows restaurants to grant permission to food trucks to operate on their property — a provision which was lacking in the previous draft. However, it is stricter on keeping food trucks without permission away from restaurants. The approved ordinance mandates food trucks stay 500 feet away, while the prior regulations enforced a minimum distance of 100 feet.

While the City Council also received complaints over the insurance requirements for mobile food vendors, the expectation that food trucks receive written consent before operating on private property and the penalties for violating the ordinance, these sections were largely unchanged from the previous draft.

Sue Milam, owner of The Bar and Grill, spoke to the City Council Aug. 12 in support of the ordinance and its requirements that food trucks be licensed with proof of insurance.

“Abiding by all the rules, that is the main thing I want to express my concern with. If you don’t have to show proof, we don’t know,” said Milam. “How are you going to know if somebody has a food license, has the appropriate insurance?”

“What if someone, if they’re parked along the road, and someone is walking to the food truck and slips and falls on the curb and gutter there, whose responsibility is that?” she added.