Naperville officials divided on how to regulate food trucks

A taco truck set up in a gas station parking lot has caught the attention of Naperville officials, who are debating the amount of oversight the city should have regarding food trucks on private property.

The issue came up during public comments at Tuesday's city council meeting when former city council member Dick Furstenau talked about the Tacos Monarca food truck in the Marathon gas station lot at 991 W. Ogden Ave. on the northeast corner of Ogden and Royal St. George Drive.

Furstenau believes the lot is too small to support food truck customers in addition to the usual gas station patrons. He's also worried about congestion with vehicles coming in and out of the lot.

But Allison Laff, deputy director of transportation, engineering and development with the city, said there are no ordinances regulating food trucks on private property. There are regulations for public property and seasonal parking lot businesses such as Christmas tree sales and garden centers, but not for something like Tacos Monarca.

"They cannot take up required parking and they cannot disrupt any ingress or egress or ability to circulate within the site," Laff said. "The taco truck that (Furstenau) is mentioning does not do any of those things."

Juan Hernandez, who works in the food truck, said he's a Naperville resident and part of the family that owns Tacos Monarca, which he said became operational about two weeks ago. He said his family looked throughout the Ogden corridor for a place to set up and reached an agreement with the Marathon management.

Mayor Steve Chirico and council members Patty Gustin and Paul Hinterlong don't like the idea of a food truck at the site, with Gustin calling it "unsightly."

Hinterlong said the lack of permitting is a health issue, and he questioned whether taxes were being collected from visiting vendors.

Councilwoman Theresa Sullivan, however, noted health concerns are the responsibility of the county, not the city.

In terms of taxes, Finance Director Rachel Mayer said they collect food and beverage tax money when they become aware of food trucks set up in the city.

Councilman Ian Holzhauer said the food truck should be allowed to operate as long as the proprietors are following regulations and don't cause traffic or parking issues.

"I don't know that tightening restrictions on a certain type of business just for the sake of doing it is the right way to go," he said.