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WHEELING -- Wheeling City Council introduced legislation Tuesday to loosen recently implemented restrictions on street vendors operating near existing businesses, but several food truck operators and Centre Market business owners on hand during the meeting vowed to work together to avoid any miscommunication in the future.
An amendment to the street vendor ordinance would modify the language in the code reducing the required distance from 100 feet to 25 feet between street vendors setting up on public property and an existing brick-and-mortar business selling similar wares.
City leaders pledged to revisit the regulation after public debate over the city's action erupted on social media in the wake of the rule's passage.
"The proposed amendment to the street vendors ordinance is an effort to reach a happy medium between brick-and-mortar restaurants and food trucks," Vice Mayor Chad Thalman said. "The goal is to promote greater access to more food options in the city, not less. A distance requirement is very common in cities throughout the country, and I believe a reduction in that requirement could be a reasonable compromise."
While the legislation to amend the new rule received a first reading at Tuesday's council meeting, several business owners came to voice their opinions about the measure. On hand were representatives of Centre Market businesses Market Vines and Wheeling Brewery, as well as owners of food truck businesses The Cheese Melt, Ideal Provisions and The Wood Fired Pizza Company.
"It's not about the competition," Greg Myers, owner of The Market Vines and Casa di Vino in Centre Market, said. "I know all these guys. It's more about the respect for the business fronts and giving us a little space to operate our own business. It is historical and we do need our store fronts shown."
Myers said parking is limited in Centre Market, and street vendors take up multiple parking spaces when they operate there. He added that generators used by food trucks are often loud and disruptive. Myers told council he believed street vending should not be allowed within Centre Market.
Centre Market business owners indicated the situation could have been improved with simple communication between all the companies involved. If a food truck is invited by one of the businesses during lunch on a particular day, existing businesses would be able to at least adjust staffing accordingly if they were given advance notice.
"Our goal as competing business owners in the city of Wheeling is to conduct our business with respect and regard for our competition," Thomas Gilson, owner of The Cheese Melt food truck, said speaking on behalf of other local food truck business owners. "As a food service business owner, I'm subject to the same health department standards, sales tax responsibilities as any other food establishment in the city."
Gilson said he does understand that brick-and-mortar businesses pay higher property taxes, as well as additional state and federal taxes in order to operate in the manner that they do. Nevertheless, that does not mean that food trucks are expense-free, he said, noting food trucks have limited space for their product and they can employ a limited amount of people because of the limited space. They cannot sell alcohol, offer seats for their patrons or use re-usable plates and silverware, he said. Food trucks have utility costs and personal property taxes on their vehicles.
"But are our bills as high as bills for brick-and-mortar businesses? That's doubtful," Gilson said. "But neither is our revenue."
Food truck owners proposed that the city eliminate the 100-foot distance rule for any vendor that has been invited to set up in front of any business.
"If a vendor has not been invited to set up in front of a business, then I think the 25-foot radius is fair," Gilson said. "We have a petition going around with 1,200 signatures on it stating that people want us here."
James Schulte, co-owner of Wheeling Brewing in Centre Market, said things would work if all of the businesses opened a line of communication and operated harmoniously.
"We want all of our businesses to work together," Schulte said. "If we had 15, 20, 30 businesses working toward the same actual goal, we can all actually be successful. It's been said that 25 feet, 50 feet or 100 feet -- it doesn't change the difference between competitiveness and combativeness."
After Tuesday's meeting, several of the food truck owners and Centre Market business owners spoke at length with one another, sharing ideas on mutually beneficial ways to operate together in the future.