TJ Bollman, a sophomore at Indiana University, waits for customers in the food truck for The Big Cheeze last year. Matthew Hatcher | Herald-Times
Food trucks and carts will be allowed to park in downtown Bloomington, as long as they’re 50 feet away from an existing restaurant. For now.
The Bloomington City Council didn’t put an end to months of long discussion and research about regulations for mobile food vendors Wednesday by passing the ordinance, 8-1. But council members agreed it does put something on the books the city can test and refine in coming months.
There's not an easy answer when it comes to food trucks versus brick-and-mortar restaurants or the Bloomington ordinance that attempts to please both of them.
The ordinance includes a list of location restrictions, safety requirements, fees, permit components, penalties for noncompliance and standards of conduct for mobile vendors. Bloomington City Council members continued to debate the regulations past midnight, still mulling over issues including when and where food vendors should be able to set up business.
And passage of the ordinance doesn’t mean the topic won’t be revisited, with council members unanimously supporting that city staff consider and research food pods, or zones where food vendors could be located downtown but not on the streets.
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