KENT, Conn.—The Board of Selectman have asked Town Counsel Randy Dibella to draft an ordinance banning food trucks throughout Kent with the exception of events on private property where food products are distributed but not sold, and for town-sponsored special events.
The decision grew out of a request from Kent resident Gregoire Pye, owner of Crepe Royale, to establish a fixed, food truck service on the property owned by Motoriot at 21 Bridge Street.
In his email to First Selectman Eric Epstein, he said his goal was to establish “a clean, quiet, quality food truck” that would serve “students, residents, and visitors while fully respecting the character and expectations of the town.”
He said the project would not be a traditional mobile food truck, but would “stationary, silent and located entirely on private property with no impact on public streets, parking or traffic.” He promised the operation would be fully compliant with all health and zoning regulations.
The request met with opposition from several prominent businesspeople, however, including John Casey, developer of Kent Green, Fife ‘n Drum proprietor Elissa Potts and The Kent Collection co-founder John McPhee.
In a March email, Potts cited the difficulty to maintaining businesses in small towns such as Kent. “Food trucks bring no benefit to the town,” she argued in her letter. “[They] use our infrastructure but don’t contribute to it, create a traffic and pedestrian hazard, exploit the contributions of our existing businesses and compete with them, and require abrogation of nearly all of Planning & Zoning’s restaurant-related regulations; regulations that every other brick-and-mortar food service is required to live by.”
Casey echoed her sentiments in registering his opposition. “I have no problem if they are used on private property for special events, but to invite them in as regular competitors to our tax-paying, closely regulated businesses is an unkind turn for our entire full-time, highly competitive restaurant sector,” he wrote.
McPhee said that the patrons of his three “hospitality properties and small apartment complex” frequent Kent restaurants, shops and cultural institutions, contributing to the town’s tax base and local employment.
“Because of that, I care deeply about the long-term vitality of Kent’s commercial district and the experience of both visitors and residents,” he said.
He noted that food trucks are not required to adhere to the same standards as brick-and-mortar eateries. “Food trucks are not required to meet many of the same requirements that brick-and-mortar restaurants must satisfy,” he wrote. “These include application fees, permanent restaurant health regulations, permit fees, grease trap installation costs, architecturally engineered plumbing and building plans, sewer commission approvals, zoning compliance related to parking, and compliance with commercial fire code regulations.”
The respondents all agreed food trucks would pose problems for parking in a town that is already congested during peak seasons.
Potts returned to the April 21 selectmen’ meeting to again oppose the possibility of food trucks operating in the community. “I think if you open it up to one, you can’t limit it to one or two. If there are one or two, you’re going to get 10 requests,” she contended.
She referred to a previous discussion of the issue in 2022, when the selectmen, under the leadership of First Selectman Jean Speck, agreed, “Upon the determination of the P&Z Commission at their January 13, 2022, meeting, the Board of Selectmen agree and move that commercial food trucks are not allowed in the Town of Kent. Food trucks for exclusive use on private property are allowable with the proper health department approvals.”
First Selectman Eric Epstein said that since March, he had gathered ordinances passed in Canaan and New Milford as a basis for his board’s consideration. “There were mixed feelings in both towns,” he reported.
He noted that food trucks cannot operate on state highways “per the DOT and that cuts out a lot of property in Kent.”
Selectman Lynn Harrington registered her opposition to approving Pye’s request. “It opens the opportunity for anyone to come in,” she observed. But Selectman Lynn Mellis Worthington wondered if a cap could be put on the numbers.
“What if we limited it to five?” she queried. “What if Parks and Rec wants to have an ice cream truck at a special event? What if the town wants to have a Food Truck Festival like other towns do?”
Epstein said he had not seen a large outpouring of support for having food trucks, but Worthington argued that there has been no broad sampling of public reaction. “Putting it on the agenda and waiting to see what comes to us is not the same as a survey,” she said.
The selectmen generally agreed, however, that it was the “commercial aspect” of food trucks that troubled them and that there is little problem having them for private events such as parties, wedding and the like, and for special municipal events.
