Town of Friday Harbor seeking comments on draft Mobile Food Unit ordinance
The Town of Friday Harbor is inviting the public to provide comments and suggestions on the draft Mobile Food Unit ordinance at the March 23, 2023, Planning Commission work session in the Town Council Chambers. The work session is open to the public; comments may be made either in person or online via a Zoom link available on the Town website under Planning Commission Meetings.
The draft Ordinance will be available on the Planning Commission Agenda page. The comment period will be open until the date and time of a public hearing; the date for the public hearing will be set at the March 23 work session.
The Town values receiving comments and suggestions from the community.
Comments may be submitted in advance by dropping off written comments to Town Hall at 60 Second Street South; by mail: Town of Friday Harbor, Community Development Department, P.O. Box 219, Friday Harbor, WA 98250; or by email to permits@fridayharbor.org; please include “Mobile Food Unit” in the subject line.
3 comments
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Amanda Wiener Tuesday, 11 April 2023 11:30 Comment Link
Food trucks provide more opportunities for food diversity on the island. More food diversity will bring more tourism. Food carts don't necessarily create competition for traditional sit down restaurants, as they are not a substitute for the atmosphere a sit down restaurants provides. All in all allowing Carts on the island can be very beneficial to the community of Friday Harbor.
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Kelly Friday, 31 March 2023 19:13 Comment Link
Food trucks are a much needed addition to Friday harbor! We are in desperate need of affordable casual food.
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Bethany Ness Friday, 31 March 2023 18:29 Comment Link
I think having food trucks on island would be brilliant! I've felt this way since moving here in 2016 and was surprised it wasn't already something that was happening in the community. There are multiple reasons I am in support of food trucks.
The first reason I have is relieving some pressure on the existing restaurants in the summer. I can understand the concern that some restaurant owners may have with additional competition, but from a customer perspective, when I want to get dinner to take out at 6pm in July, and not a single restaurant can accommodate take out orders because they're too busy, I'm not about to wait for an hour in be seated inside, I'm more likely to just stop at the grocery store for a frozen pizza and go home. I truly believe that in the peak summer, food trucks would have a minimal impact on restaurants revenue.
My second reason for supporting the introduction of food trucks on island is a general support of small businesses! Our community has a lot of innovative and talented people regarding food, farms and restaurants. Many of these folks are not wealthy though, and cannot afford to rent and renovate a whole building to start a restaurant. I think food trucks are a great way for people to start a business in a more affordable way. I'm familiar with multiple business in WA that started as food trucks and were so successful they were able to open brick-and-mortar- locations- like our own Hermosa's!
My final reason for supporting food trucks is that we seem to have multiple locations that would work well for multiple food trucks to park and serve from a central location in town. Brickworks is the first location that comes to mind. It seems that the back lot (where farmers market happens) is vacant more than its used. It already has some picnic tables and a lovely grassy yard that would set up perfectly for a few food trucks. I'm sure there are a number of other businesses or farms that would be happy to "host" food trucks now and then to garner business and attention to their own place. I think we could utilize some of our town spaces in a smarter way, but also looking at how to create a cohesive relationship with food trucks and other local business to equally support each other across the island.
I hope that your decision making takes all these reasons and more into mind. Our sweet little community has so much potential and I think with appropriate regulations and guidelines, bringing food trucks into the community would be a great addition to our community.