Turlock council takes up food carts

The City Council will try once again Tuesday night to deal with the issue of mobile food vendors downtown.

That issue is among changes in zoning rules that could come up for a vote at the meeting, which also could bring tighter rules for outdoor watering this year.

The food-truck issue dates to 2013, when Christopher Shaun sought to set up a trailer at West Main Street and Broadway to sell smoothies, crepes, salads, wraps and fresh fruit bowls. The Turlock Downtown Property Owners Association objected because such businesses would not pay the extra property tax that goes to maintaining the district.

The council will consider whether a moratorium on downtown vendors should become a permanent ban. The zoning code revision also includes, among many items, the use of electrified fences in industrial areas, easing of landscaping requirements to save water in commercial office projects, and placing cargo containers on business properties.

The council postponed a January vote on the zoning changes. Tuesday’s meeting will start an hour earlier than usual, at 5 p.m., for a workshop on the topic. The council will go into its regular session at 6 p.m.

Also Tuesday, the council will consider:

▪ Tightening the rules on outdoor watering to deal with the worsening drought. Homes with even-numbered addresses would water only on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Odd-numbered homes would do it on Wednesdays and Sundays. Three days per week have been allowed until now.

▪ A five-year extension of the lease that allowed a youth baseball field to be built in 1967 at the National Guard armory in west Turlock. The field, Soderquist Park, had been at risk of closing because of the armory’s need for more room. Guard officials are working with the city on a long-term solution that keeps the field in use.

This story was originally published April 12, 2015 at 9:22 PM with the headline "Turlock council takes up food carts."