Des Plaines officials paving way for food trucks

With food trucks increasingly popular, Des Plaines officials are taking steps to make it easier for mobile kitchens to operate in town.

City council members this week informally endorsed a proposal to eliminate a ban on trucks that serve freshly prepared food. It’s now up to administrators to draft a set of rules for a proposed pilot program; the council then would need to approve those rules.

Only food trucks selling prepackaged food and drinks are allowed to operate in Des Plaines now. That means wrapped sandwiches, bagged snacks and bottled or canned beverages are OK, but freshly made tacos, sandwiches, hamburgers and more are forbidden, other than at special events with a city license.

Cooking in vehicles is explicitly prohibited.

The ban, which applies to motorized and nonmotorized vehicles, was implemented in 2013 to comply with goals in the city’s strategic plan, city management analyst Emily Shaw told the council during a discussion Tuesday night.

Since then, however, the food truck craze has taken hold across the country. Even Des Plaines has hosted food truck roundups with food and live music during the summer outside the library and at other locations.

Mayor Andrew Goczkowski reportedly requested city officials consider easing the ban.

Council members on Tuesday seemed to favor a pilot program that would allow food trucks at three locations in town, each at least 300 feet from established brick-and-mortar restaurants. The food-truck zones would be on Prairie Street between Graceland Avenue and Lee Street; on the 1800 block of East Oakton Street; and on the 0-100 block of North Broadway Street, Shaw said.

Up to two trucks would be allowed at each location at a time, Shaw said.

They wouldn’t be allowed to sell alcoholic beverages or interfere with traffic, and garbage cans for customers’ trash would be required. Operating hours would be limited.

Food trucks at special events still would be allowed.

Details — including the size of the zones where trucks could operate — will be worked out when a proposal is brought to the council, likely within a few months, Goczkowski said.

“I’m really excited about it,” he told the Daily Herald on Friday. “I think this is long overdue.”

Fourth Ward Alderman Dick Sayad also is among the proposal’s backers.

“I think this is something people want,” he said Tuesday.

After the council finished its discussion of the proposal, an audience member took to the lectern to express concerns about trash, safety, the financial impact on brick-and-mortar restaurants and other issues.