DALLAS — More food trucks, trailers and maybe other forms of transportation could be coming to Dallas soon as the City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to ease restrictions on the services.
The new ordinance cuts fees for entering the mobile food service industry, allows for additional types of food-service vehicles, expands food preparation options and requires less frequent visits from the Code Compliance Department.
“Dallas is a great food city. But for too long, the city government has been far too restrictive to mobile food operators," Mayor Eric Johnson said in a statement. "I am grateful to Chairman [Adam] Bazaldua and to the members of the Quality of Life, Arts, and Culture Committee for crafting more sensible regulations that encourage entrepreneurs without sacrificing food safety. Together, we are working to make Dallas more vibrant and more fun.”
Johnson made the reforms a top priority for the committee, hoping the number of mobile food units across Dallas, the city said.
City staff are also exploring a possible pilot program to create “Food Truck Zones” in city parks and greenspaces.
Bazaldua said he was thrilled about the new ordinance in a written statement.
“These changes will bring equity and opportunity for small businesses and to communities who have been left out of the changes in the traditional hospitality industry business model,” he said.
Efforts to first revise Chapter 17 of the Dallas City Code, the “Food Establishments” chapter, were first named a priority by Johnson in November last year, with city staff working with the Better Block Mobile Food Vending Task Force and other groups to recommend ordinance changes.
The Quality of Life, Arts and Culture Committee will review the ordinance changes in one year.
