Action clears the way for planned food truck park
By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
After several rounds of discussion, Union Grove officials recently finalized a series of tweaks to an existing ordinance outlining the dos and don’ts of operating a mobile food truck in the village.
The reviews came in response to a proposed development – a so-called food truck park – at the site of the former Burger King, 1141 15th Ave.
Former Village Administrator Mike Hawes, who departed this week for a job in Greendale, outlined the assorted changes in a memo, while he was still in Union Grove’s employ. It was taken up at a Village Board meeting March 28.
One of the more notable changes in the amended ordinance stipulates how much a mobile food vendor will have to pay to the village annually. Prior to going to the full Village Board for a vote, one municipal panel, the Administration Committee, recommended changing the annual fee.
Speaking to the committee’s decision, Hawes in a memo to the board wrote panelists “decided to recommend an increase from $200 per year to $300 per year. The committee felt that $300 would be more in line with the fee in other municipalities.”
Some of the other changes in the village’s amended food truck ordinance directly correlate to the proposed food truck park. For example, the phrase “food truck park” has been added as a permitted conditional use within the ordinance.
The amendments also stipulate vendors operating out of a mobile food park must obtain annual permits and are not eligible for daily permits.
“This could limit the number of trucks that could come and go and help the village keep tabs on which trucks are permitted for the year,” Hawes wrote.
Businessman Todd Mencias is the person behind the mobile food truck park at the former Burger King site. His proposal includes incorporating the interior Burger King building into the operations plan, as well as the parking lot.
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