Food truck argument goes to special magistrate

 

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

 

Key West City attorneys went to bat again against a local food truck and came away disappointed.

 

The city has been trying – so far unsuccessfully – to bring mobile food dispensing vehicles under its jurisdiction. Two trucks in particular, Yebo Island Grille, 629 Duval St., and White Street Station, 1127 Truman Ave., have taken advantage of a loophole in city regulations that has put them out of the reach of city zoning and planning regulations. And in the case of Yebo Island Grille, the Historic Architectural Review Commission (HARC) is also trying to control operations at that location, which is situated in the historic district.

 

Two earlier HARC decisions would, if upheld on appeal, force the food truck to close down until it has satisfied city zoning ordinances. One HARC decision would close the business until it filed and received approval of a development plan. A second HARC ruling would force owners to take down existing signage advertising the truck.

 

Both decisions were appealed by Joel Dos Santos and Paul Mills, owners of Yebo Island Grille, and heard May 28 by Special Magistrate Jeff Overby. The original HARC decision did not refer to the business as a food truck, but as a “metal trailer” that failed to meet regulations regarding compatibility, building detail and materials in a historic district.

 

“The concept of installing a large metal trailer in the historic district is incompatible and dissimilar to the historic urban charter that surrounds the property,” the decision read.

 

But Yebo’s attorney, Ralf Brookes, argued that the trailer is, in fact, a vehicle with a legal registration tag and license plate. As such, it comes under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Transportation, not Key West.

 

“I cannot find any guideline that prohibits a mobile vehicle being utilized on this lot. The [Key West zoning] code does not regulate mobile food dispensing vehicles at this time,” Brookes told Overby.

 

Key West Assistant City Attorney Ron Ramsingh argued that the truck, which does not move from its location like other mobile food trucks that travel to their sales site every day, is a structure. He pointed to wording in the city code that says if a vehicle is being “used as if affixed” to the land, then it is defined as a structure.

 

“A lot of talk has been made that if it has a license plate, that it is not a structure. That is not true,” he said. “[Yebo Island Grille] has licenses as a restaurant. [It] has seating. It is clearly being used as though affixed.”

 

But Overby appeared unconvinced. He postponed his decision until he could read the HARC meeting minutes. However, his comments seemed to favor the Yebo owners.

 

“I’m concerned that HARC is requiring esthetic approval of a food service trailer merely because it is being used in a HARC neighborhood, if you will… That’s where it gets dicey for me,” he said.

 

Overby ruled against the city “with prejudice” in another case against White Street Station. Overby said then that food trucks fall into a gray area that has not been regulated yet by the city. He also said it “is a stretch” for city attorneys to attempt to put food trucks under HARC jurisdiction, which applies primarily to the esthetics of structures in the Key West historic district.

 

“I’m really trying to understand how the city can say, under state law, it is not a vehicle yet the state of Florida has said it is, by issuing a tag and registration. I think the city is making a huge stretch here,” Overby said during that case.

 

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