ROGERS -- Troy and Rebecca Walker will move their specialty taco business into downtown in February.
Rogers planning commissioners unanimously approved on Tuesday a temporary trailer permit for the couple to park their food truck, TrickDilly, in front of Brick Street Brews at 208 W. Walnut St. Commissioner Mark Myers was absent from the meeting.
At A Glance
Commission Action
Rogers’ Planning Commission met Tuesday and approved:
• An 11,967-square-foot addition for Digital Entertainment Systems at 2349 W. Hudson Road pending Board of Adjustment approval for a parking variance.
• A permit allowing vehicle sales and service for an upholstery shop at 1618 Prairie Creek Drive in a highway commercial zoning district. Commissions limited boat and vehicle parking to three in front of the business.
Commissioners also forward the following items to the City Council:
• An annexation and zoning request for 22.5 acres on the north side of Haxton Road and west of Arkansas 112 to a mix of residential single-family and agriculture for a future housing development.
• A rezoning request to change property at 618 W. Poplar Street from office to residential duplex patio.
Source: Staff report
The permit allows the truck to be parked in front of the pub from Friday afternoon through Saturday night for six months.
"We hope to capitalize on drawing in new business," Troy Walker told commissioners. "This is a great opportunity for us to break into the Rogers market."
The Walkers opened their food truck at 501 S.W. A St. in Bentonville last summer, but closed for a couple months because of the cold weather, Rebecca Walker said. The business is focusing on catering this winter and plans to resume Bentonville operations once the weather warms up, she said.
Commissioner Jim White stressed that the permit is only valid for six months, adding that was an issue for some food truck operators in the past.
Rogers doesn't have an ordinance addressing food truck businesses, but Derrel Smith, senior planner, said that could change in the coming months. He said city officials are waiting for a report from Gateway Planning to see its ordinance recommendations.
City officials hired Gateway Planning to develop a revitalization and economic plan for downtown.
"I've looked at Bentonville's and Fayetteville's ordinances, and we could do something similar," Smith said. "We want to make sure we blend everything together."
One Gateway proposal suggests using alleys as a possible place to park food trucks
Smith said there are a lot of possibilities and he expects the city to develop a food truck ordinance specifically for downtown to address some issues not relevant in other parts of the city.
Commissioner Brian Jackson said he was in favor of issuing the permit, but wanted to make sure the truck was pulled up close to the curb because Brick Street Brews is on a narrow, busy stretch of road.
Dana Mather, interim director of Main Street Rogers, said adding food trucks to downtown brings in diversity.
"Through the master planning process, we are hearing that variety is what people are looking for," she said prior to the meeting. "Food trucks is the natural progression."
Mather said two things have kept more food trucks from opening downtown in the past: lack of an ordinance and lack of foot traffic.
"As we see more food businesses and bars opening in downtown, food trucks are finding new opportunities," she said. "I think this will be a big year for a lot of new developments downtown."
NW News on 01/07/2015