City realizes it used wrong food truck code

Foodies rejoice as food trucks are now allowed to operate in Oak Harbor permanently, without restrictive policies. Actually, it’s been this way since 2018; the city had just forgot.

According to Jeff Humphrey, owner of Humphrey Sign Co. in Oak Harbor, seven food vendors have approached him about signage for their trucks. After inquiring with the city, those vendors were told that because of ordinance 19.35 — which turned out to be the wrong one — they must move to a new location after 60 days.

Humphrey said in an interview that all seven of those vendors have gone to Mount Vernon or Anacortes because of Oak Harbor’s policies and thrived.

“What this ordinance does, it actually says ‘you’re not welcome in our community,’” he said at a recent city council meeting.

When these vendors confronted the city about the ordinance in the past, the city had suggested the possibility of changing the 60-day restriction to 90 days. According to Humphrey, this isn’t good enough.

“Can you imagine trying to own a business and have to move every 90 days?” he asked. “Councilmember (Bryan) Stucky (owner of Wallin-Stucky Funeral Home), can you imagine having to tell your team to go grab the caskets and the bodies and to move every 90 days? I can’t.”

While food trucks are mobile, many of them require 20 volts and are very limited in where they can set up, he said.

The issue became more personal when Humphrey’s daughter and son-in-law, Krista and Willy Winata, started their own food trailer, The Wandering Asian. When Krista learned about Oak Harbor’s policies, she decided to take their business to the county.

The city was very responsive, Humphrey said. Councilmember Barbara Armes took this on personally, and both Councilmembers Eric Marshall and Jim Woessner reached out and affirmed they would investigate what could be done.

What they found, ironically, is that they didn’t need to do anything. The city, for six years, had simply referred to the wrong ordinance.

In 2018, the council ratified ordinance 5.29, allowing for food trucks on private land anywhere that is zoned for restaurants. Since then, the ordinance has never been used.

“It appears that for a while now 19.35 has been misapplied as the primary path for approving food trucks out there,” said Steve McCaslin, economic development coordinator, at a recent workshop. “The word ‘truck,’ ‘food truck,’ ‘mobile food vehicle,’ isn’t even in it.”

That said, 5.29 isn’t a perfect ordinance. Council could amend it for guidelines on same day arrivals and departures, McCaslin said.

Roads are not zoned, said Senior Planner Ray Lindenburg, so theoretically food trucks could park on the side of the street anywhere and set up shop.

There is also nothing in the ordinance addressing potential problems, he said, such as flat tires, garbage blowing around or how many trucks can work in a given area.

City planning may leave the ordinance for now and revisit these concerns later, he said.

“We kind of looked at the idea of just having ‘Food Truck Summer,’ just let them do what they want to do this summer and let’s see what happens,” he said, “because there are some things that are a little bit of a concern that are kind of ambiguous.”

Mayor Pro Tem Tara Hizon was on council when the 2018 ordinance was passed, so when food vendors came and complained about the restrictions, she was confused, she said.

“We want to bring life to our public spaces,” she said. “I’m all for food trucks, vendors, buskers. I want the ice cream guy at Windjammer Park. I want people doing balloon animals. I want all of it.”

With no council action, the problem was resolved.

“This really at this point in my mind puts this issue to bed,” Woessner said. “As we move forward, staff knows what ordinance now to refer to, can give out the information to the food truck operators, letting them know the City of Oak Harbor is open for business.”

Born in Indonesia, Willy Winata has traveled all over Asia and looks forward to bringing Asian fusion cuisine to Oak Harbor, Krista said. They marinate their meats in secret family sauces, then wrap them with rice, purple cabbage, carrots, cilantro and more.

With the matter settled, they are looking forward to opening on weekends within city limits within a month, she said.