Buffalo's array of food trucks received another year Tuesday as Common Council members approved new licenses and lower fees.When council members went from a meeting of the Legislation Committee to a special meeting of the Council, they stayed silent and voted unanimously and quickly for the licenses. Under the new system, renewing operators will pay $500 dollars a year and new trucks will pay $800 effective Monday.
Roaming Buffalo owner Chris Taylor says that will bring out new truck operators who have been waiting to see what the fees would be. Taylor says the initial operating fee was a jolt when the city legalized the trucks.
"I didn't expect the $1,000 fee when I first started, so it hurt us for a while. We had to hold off on buying certain things for the truck that would help my business. Hiring employees was definitely put off with the higher fees," Taylor said.
There was much discussion during the committee meeting, with lawyers and restaurateurs dueling over how well the food trucks were doing and how much they are affecting brick and mortar restaurants.
The move didn't pass without protest. Restaurateur Tucker Curtin told the Legislation Committee there are safety risks with the trucks.
"These folks are carrying around two 100-pound tanks of propane. This can become very dangerous. There's been a number of explosions across the country. We've had explosions here with propane tanks in residential areas, as well as the four blocks that were taken out 10 or 20 years ago," Curtin said.
Councilmember Joe Golombek says both sides had worked out their differences.
"The gist of it is is that it keeps a good ordinance that has worked reasonably well over the past 15 months. It keeps it moving forward and it lowers the fee by 50 percent so that as of April 1, instead of paying $1,000 the food trucks for renewals would have to pay $500," Golombek said.
Food truck operators say this gives some certainty and also cuts their fees. Several new trucks are apparently ready to join those already on the road, now that costs and rules are clear.
