After lengthy discussion, Royal City food truck ordinance approved

ROYAL CITY — After more than a year of discussion, Royal City has a revised ordinance governing food trucks.

“Times have changed since we did the first one 40 years ago,” said Mayor Ryan Piercy.

The revisions removed a section that caused a lot of discussion and debate when the ordinance was first reviewed in spring 2025.

“We did away with some of the distance restrictions we had before,” Piercy said.

The original ordinance prohibited a food truck from operating within a designated distance of a restaurant serving a similar menu. But because Royal City’s business district is not that big, former Mayor Michael Christensen said in an earlier interview that the restrictions limited the area where food trucks could operate. It also only applied to food trucks, so two restaurants serving similar food could operate next to each other without restrictions.

Some restrictions remain in place; events on city property will still have restrictions, as well as schools in session.

Food trucks must stay at least 100 feet away from a park with a city-operated concession stand or a park where there’s a special event with other food vendors, including nonprofits. Food trucks must be at least 400 feet from a school that’s in session or when there’s a school-related event.

The revised ordinance includes rules for a food court. Those rules would apply to a location where multiple vendors are operating within a space designed to accommodate them permanently.

Piercy said the city hasn’t had any requests to establish a food court, but Royal City City Council members wanted to be ready if a business or businesses wanted to start one.

“Just in case somebody gets the idea, we’ll have some structure around it,” he said.

The operators would be required to submit an application at least three weeks before they plan to open the business. Applicants would be required to submit a site plan, detailing vehicle entrances and exits, parking, lighting and landscaping. All customers would be served inside the food park.

The operators would be required to provide a permanent source of electricity and meet trash removal and sanitary standards.