Politics & Government

City Council Passes Food Truck Ordinance

The Evanston city council passed the measure after midnight on Tuesday. Evanston Patch boiled the 6-hour meeting down to 344 words.

Food trucks will soon roll into Evanston, as city council members passed a late-night ordinance allowing the roving restaurants to operate in town, with certain limitations.

Aldermen passed a last-minute amendment at about midnight clarifying the types of signage that can be used on the vehicles.

The amendment says signs must not contribute to blight or cause distractions to vehicles or pedestrians and passed 8-1, with Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, voting in opposition.

Find out what's happening in Evanstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I think you forget your trip down Howard Street a couple of weeks ago, where there isn't one sign that complies with that ordinance," Rainey said.

Food trucks will not be able to operate within 100 yards of brick and mortar restaurants, and an amendment was struck down that would have prohibited them from operating on certain streets where restaurant owners expressed concerns about unfair competition.

Find out what's happening in Evanstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The meeting stretched late into the night, with most of the time devoted to a long citizen comment period in which more than 30 people signed up to speak.  Most spoke in support of the library board's new funding model and some spoke about new taxi regulations.

Members of the library board also discussed the library fund model in an attempted consensus building, "non-adversarial" dialogue, in the words of Alderman Judy Fiske, 1st ward.

Much of the discussion on library funding was based on who will be held accountable for spending and who is working in the best interest of Evanston residents.

"What's most important to me is reaching the very residents that can't afford a cup of Starbucks or whose water is turned off," said board member Susan Stone, in response to an alderman's comment that not all residents can afford even a slight hike in taxes.

Discussion on Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl's proposed ordinance about funding for the library was put on hold until the library board has its own meeting Wednesday evening.

Other notes:

-A truancy ordinance was sent back to committee.

-No vote was taken on an ordinance about owning fowl and licensing chicken coops.

-Fire Chief Gregory Klaiber took the oath of office.


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