Taste drive

COEUR d'ALENE - The idea of providing a space for dozens of mobile eateries to gather in downtown Coeur d'Alene is gaining traction at city hall.

During the city's General Services Committee meeting on Monday, city council members Amy Evans and Steve Adams approved a request to allow food trucks to operate in the lower parking lot at city hall during special events.

"Everyone loves food and this sounds like a fun thing to try out," Adams told The Press after Monday's meeting. "It's also a great opportunity to give those guys a little exposure."

If the idea gets final approval at the next city council meeting, a limited "test run" will be held on April 12, with a larger food truck rally taking place in conjunction with Car d'Lane in June.

In his report to the committee, City Planner Sean Holm wrote that the events would use 58 parking spots, which accounts for 7 percent of the spots at City Hall, McEuen Park, and the library area.

He added that all of the handicapped parking spots would remain open and accessible.

"Food trucks are taking the nation by storm. The popularity of this form of food distribution has steadily increased over the last decade, with cities everywhere looking at the operational characteristics within their borders, and how to handle the influx of mobile food vendors," Holm wrote.

City staff members are already working on an ordinance defining how food trucks will operate on a daily basis within city limits.

Travis Whiteside, a Coeur d'Alene native who is in the final stages of preparation on his sushi-centric food truck called "Rawdeadfish," applauded the committee's decision.

"It's really cool that they are doing that," Whiteside said. "I think with events like that, it should be 'the more the merrier' because food trucks are becoming hugely popular."

Since the property is publicly owned, the food truck group would need to lease the area at a nominal cost for each future event. Staff also recommends that all food trucks using the lot get insurance to cover the location and hold the city harmless.

Vendors will be required to purchase mobile food licenses to operate during the special events. The cost for vendors would be $25 a month until June, when the price would increase to $50 through the summer months, Holm wrote.

"Staff is requesting, since this is a pilot program, that the lease be forgone for the limited pilot test on Sunday, April 12, 2015, with a formal lease to be drawn up for the Car d'Lane event," he added.