The Beaverton City Council voted to change development rules to make setting up food 
carts easier and less expensive.
The new rules become effective Jan. 12, 2017 and will allow food carts and collections of food carts called “pods,” to store fresh water and waste water in above ground tanks while retaining public health and environmental protections. The new rules remove requirements that carts make potentially expensive connections to water and sewer lines. Using tanks is a common practice in other food cart locations in the region. The rules will also allow more flexibility in the design and layout of cart pods.
The city first adopted new regulations in 2015 to accommodate food cart pods, which are an evolving trend in the region, attracting local employees, visitors, and residents alike. Encouraging more food carts in Beaverton was identified as an action in Beaverton’s Community Vision Plan, which was developed with extensive input from residents.
The City Council also voted to adopt changes to rules that regulate food trucks. Food trucks are different from food pods, in that they are more mobile than food carts, and are required to leave the site after they close for the night. The new changes allow:
- Food trucks to operate without a city permit if they are located on a site for three hours or less
- Food trucks to operate with a city permit if they are located on site for three to seven hours
- Up to three food trucks that operate with a permit (that is, operate on one site for more than three hours, but less than seven hours) to locate on one site
These changes allow for more flexibility for food trucks to relocate and gather as a group on a temporary basis.
The post Food Cart Pod Update appeared first on Beaverton Resource Guide.