Food Trucks In Creve Coeur: City Looks For More Info

The arguments for and against food trucks have been fairly well-laid out in the St. Louis area in recent years. They're popular and trendy, but will they hurt brick and mortar businesses, or get away without paying sales tax?

The debate has crept into Creve Coeur in the last year, and Monday, city leaders conceded that they don't know enough about how those assumptions would actually play out here.

Food trucks are allowed in Creve Coeur as a conditional use which would have to be permitted, or as a catering outlet. To date, the city has not issued any permits for them. Debbie Blanchard, of CenterCo Office Suites, told the Planning and Zoning Commission Monday that she questioned the idea of paying a $200 permit for a truck selling food at $5 a pop.

Paul Langdon, the city's Planning and Community Development Director said he didn't know if the Conditional Use approach was the correct one to take, and pointed to Friday's St. Louis Post Dispatch, which reported on retail trucks which are now creeping into the region, seeking equity with the way food trucks are treated in the city of St. Louis. The issue isn't going away.

Commissioner Michael Barton wondered aloud if there was data suggesting traffic on Olive would go down if food trucks were in operation. Langdon was not aware of any but indicated he had heard from restaurants with concerns about how the business would be impacted. Barton pointed to the fact that Lowes and Home Depot tend to end up near one another, creating something of a destination. 

"If they're successful than that means its fulfilling a demand," Barton said, suggesting the city "give it a run" and see how it goes.

Commissioner Gary Eberhardt said the city didn't have enough information to make a more a permanent decision on how to handle food truck regulations, and suggested a one year trial ordinance of some sort.

No ordinance was put forth or suggested Monday but a report prepared for the meeting suggested that the issue would be back before Planning and Zoning and City Council.

The city's parks department has indicated interest in hosting food trucks but has held off out of concern that they could be used in ways that are restricted for private businesses in the city.