If not explicitly, then at least practically speaking:
This week, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the City Council are expected to pass a law that will allow the city to choose where we operate instead of allowing us to serve our customers wherever our customers want us to operate. The proposed ordinance says we will have to stay 200 feet away from restaurants, unless we park in spots selected by the local alderman.
If you can’t operate a truck within 200 feet of a brick-and-mortar restaurant, there’s going to be pretty fierce competition for the spaces that are left. Unless city officials designate large central parking areas as legal for carts, (And where would those lots be located? And who gets to collect rent/parking fees? And who will set rent- the lot owners, or the city, or…?) it’s hard to see how this doesn’t end up excluding food carts from all of downtown.
