Food Truck Location Squashed in Lake View After Opposition

The Chicago City Council signed off on 21 food truck parking stalls Wednesday, but after local businesses put up a fight, one spot Lake View didn’t make the cut, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The parking space at 2934 North Broadway near Oakdale Avenue was pulled off the table after the officials at the East Lakeview Chamber of Commerce rallied with local business owners against the location. Chamber Executive Director Maureen Martino has been against food trucks on North Broadway since the idea’s inception.

“There is room enough in the city to have it all work out, but the city needs to ensure the ordinance for the food trucks protects our small business operators that have paid a high price for operating a business in Chicago,” Martino said.

• Check out Patch's interactive map of the approved locations here.

It was also discovered that only one business in the Broadway corridor made the request. Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) told the Tribune a coffee shop owner near the location thought food trucks would bring more business to the area.

The rejected location was one of two in the City of Chicago, with the other in the Loop, at 33 N. LaSalle St, according to the Tribune.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced the plan to the City Council on Oct. 3 to establish designated parking places for food trucks in higher-density neighborhoods like Lake View and Lincoln Park. This comes after an ordinance was passed in July expanding food truck operations across Chicago, but forcing the mobile eateries to park in “food truck stands” in more congested areas of the city.

The ordinance requires there to be 30 food truck stands around Chicago, so more must be chosen. Final approval of the 21 locations given the green light today could be officially approved at the Oct. 31 council meeting, reports the Tribune.

To comply with the new ordinance, each food truck must install a GPS tracker. They are banned from being on the streets between 2 and 5 a.m. Fines for violating the new regulations can reach $2,000.

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