Why New Laws May Turn Arlington into a Food Truck Haven

When Elaine Hosein and her family were looking to launch a food truck selling their homemade donuts, they thought about Washington, but quickly found that launching in Arlington would be the better option.

“It’s way easier to set up in Arlington then DC,” said Hosein, co-owner of food truck Mama’s Donut Bites, which started operating in March.

If proposed new regulations for food vendors in Arlington County take effect, starting a food truck in the county could be easier. The changes to the county's code relating to food trucks would extend the amount of time vendors can stay in one place from one hour to two and will allow for more flexibility where vendors can set up.

The county is hosting a public hearing April 20 to discuss the proposed changes to make the county more food truck friendly.

If passed, Arlington could be the most headache-free option for rolling out a food truck in the Washington metro area.  

“It’s one of the more enlightened approaches to vending,” said Doug Povich, the chairman of Food Truck Association of Metropolitan Washington. The organization has about 50 members and promotes food trucks in the region, and works with area local governments to create laws favorable to vendors.

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The regulations mark Arlington's next step in its evolving stance on food trucks. Before 2008, food trucks were only allowed to be on the curb for five minutes or less. That was revised to an hour, but that still may not be enough to accommodate the county’s 100 licensed mobile food vendors.

“We’ve recognized that the hour is not sufficient for our vendors and the customers of vendors,” said Jill Griffin, who is a commercial development specialist for Arlington’s Economic Development office. “So we’ve been looking at this for a while.” 

The new regulations also allow the county manager more flexibility in judging where vendors would be allowed to park. Currently, vendors can’t be parked beyond 1,200 feet of a Metro station.

The Mama's Donut Bites truck parks near the Rosslyn Metro, and they will even hold a second parking spot using another car as a courtesy for other food vendors.

Any changes to county regulations are part of Arlington’s larger concerns in managing “the public realm” in the face of competing priorities, Griffin said. 

“The initial public hearing is to fix a small piece of the vending ordinance. Working with business owners, property owners and restaurateurs we will be looking at a more comprehensive revision,” Griffin said.

It’s a move “in the right direction,” said Povich, with the food truck association. It comes a few months after charges were dropped against Korean fusion food truck Seoul Food Truck, which operates in Arlington and the metro area.

Owners Anna Shil and her husband J.P. Goree could have faced a $2,500 fine and up to a year in jail after getting a ticket from Arlington police for not moving her truck far away enough from her initial parking space after their first hour of vending.

The charges against the Seoul Food operators were later tossed out of an Arlington court after the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office determined that the law was too vague to enforce, according to Robert Frommer, of the Arlington-based Institute for Justice. Among other causes, the institute advocates for legalizing food trucks as part of its "National Street Vending Initiative."  

"Thankfully the Arlington county commissioners have gone back to the drawing board," Frommer said. "I think, ideally, food trucks should be able to stay as long at a location as any other vehicle."

Griffin, from the county's economic development office, said the Seoul Food incident wasn’t the only reason the county has decided to review its codes.

“I wouldn’t say it was from a specific incident, we've taken a holistic look at food trucks,” Griffin said.

Beyond Arlington

The ruling may even attract more vendors to Arlington since Washington is currently considering laws that would make it more difficult for vendors to operate, Povich said.

“There have been some issues with respect to a lot of trucks in popular areas of the city and that has led to parking congestion and issues,” Povich said. “So DC wanted to solve those problems.”

Proposals in DC would restrict the amount of food trucks where there is less than 10 feet of unobstructed sidewalk and other restrictions that the food truck association says would be unreasonable.

“When you compare [DC] to Arlington where you could park up to two hours, it’s like night and day,” Povich said. “That’s the way it should be.”

The food truck association is also working with local governments in the city of Alexandria, which bans food trucks entirely except for certain special events, and Fairfax County, which Povich said could also benefit from a revamp of its current laws.

The public hearing on the proposed new regulations in Arlington County take place April 20. After that, the Arlington County Board would have to formally approve any changes to the code.

Mama's Donut bites would like to set up in Washington soon. Read more about Mama's Donut Bites.

Do you think food truck vendors in Arlington should be allowed to stay stay in place for two hours or longer? Tell us in the comments.

More on food trucks:

• See Food Truck Fiesta for day-to-day info on your favorite food truck
• From the Washington Post: Food truck group says DC rules would block many vendors from downtown area