Aug. 31—The city of Beckley now has an ordinance that spells out requirements for mobile food vendors including where they can operate.

According to the ordinance, mobile food vendors, including food trucks, can set up in the B-1 Neighborhood-Highway Business District, the B-2 General Business District, B-3 Courthouse Square, and Manufacturing Districts.

Before the ordinance, which was approved by the Beckley Common Council at its Aug. 22 meeting, the city did not have a way to regulate where mobile food vendors could operate.

The need for such an ordinance was brought to the attention of the Beckley Council during a council workshop meeting in May when council member Cody Reedy said he'd noticed several food trucks setting up on state-owned property near his business on Ragland Road.

"My problem was that I had a circus of five of them set up on state property that had no parking, had no restrooms, no trash cans and then they come to my small business that has just enough parking for our clients," Reedy said.

Reedy added that patrons of the food trucks not only parked in his business's parking lot but also used its restrooms, which were not public, and left a slew of trash scattered all over the parking lot, which he then had to pick up.

Reedy went on to say that he had nothing against any of the vendors but that there should be guidelines in place for where they can operate and other guidelines they should follow.

The following are a few of the requirements from the city's new mobile food vendor ordinance:

—Food trucks can operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the permitted zone districts. Those hours can be extended by the city for special events.

—All mobile food vendors must obtain a mobile food vendor permit from the city as well as all other necessary permits from the state and follow all applicable state and federal laws and regulations.

—The city's mobile food vendor permit must be renewed yearly or when a change in ownership takes place.

—Food trucks must also receive approval from the city's fire marshal.

—Food trucks that have a mobile food vendor permit from the city can operate on private property in the permitted zone districts if the property owner has given written permission.

—When operating on private property, no more than five food trucks can operate at the same location unless given a special event permit.

—A single food truck is allowed to occupy a maximum of three parking spaces; this includes canopies, signage, equipment and seating areas.

—Food trucks, other than ice cream trucks, are not allowed to operate, stop, stand or park in any area of the right-of-way that is intended for use by vehicular traffic except in the instance of street closures for special events.

—When setting up on or adjacent to sidewalks, all components of a food truck, including the line to its services, may not block pedestrian travel along the sidewalk.

—The area around a food truck must be kept clean and orderly. The food truck operator must also provide trash receptacles for public use, and all trash must be removed from the location when the food truck departs.

—Food trucks are only allowed to serve pedestrians. Drive-through or drive-in service is prohibited.

—The sale of alcohol from ice cream trucks is prohibited. Food trucks can only serve alcohol when specifically allowed by state law and city ordinance.

A complete copy of the mobile food vendor ordinance is available upon request at city hall. Beckley ordinances can also be found online at library.municode.com/wv/beckley.

Email: jmoore@register-herald.com