Food trucks may soon have a welcomed place in Gulf Shores, as the city council voted May 22 to allow for mobile vendor courts to be built within the city.

The change was part of an ordinance amendment that would allow the courts within the city limits in business tourism (BT) zoned areas at the beach and the Waterway Village district.

Gulf Shores Planning Director Andy Bauer clarified what would be considered a mobile vending court for the council and crowd.

“Mobile vendor court is defined as a vacant property with a minimum of three mobile vendors,” Bauer said. “This could be food trucks, this could be some other type of portable vending unit.”

Bauer said standalone food trucks would not be allowed by this amendment and were not being considered at this time.

Bauer said the city had been approached by several people about a mobile vendor court idea, which led to the city looking at how they could facilitate that.

Bauer said the approval process would be a conditional use permit, which would require planning commission and city council approval. He added that a few existing planned unit developments within the city could also be allowed to develop mobile vending courts based on the PUD specifications.

“There has been some pushback against mobile vending courts that the development does not have to have as much invested in it as a brick and mortar restaurant,” Bauer said. “A mobile vendor court will have to be developed and have to go through the site plan process and have requirements like bathroom facilities, having to be landscaped just like any other business proposal. Drainage, parking, utilities - all of that is required and will have to be reviewed and approved by the city prior to a mobile vendor court being approved.”

Bauer said the mobile vendor courts could help promote more business in the areas in which they would be located.

“They encourage entrepreneurship and have positive impacts on street vitality,” Bauer said. “That’s why we like the synergy of at least three (vendors) to develop that kind of pedestrian activity and economic activity in one location. It gives people a place to go, and maybe they’ll visit a part of the city they don’t normally visit.”

Council members and staff reiterated this amendment would not allow standalone food trucks to be permitted throughout the city in any area, on public or private areas.

Mayor Robert Craft said he wanted to make sure the wording in the amendment would insure a significant economic investment for those seeking to develop a mobile vendor court, which staff assured him it did.

During public comments, Leonard Kaiser asked for clarity on how existing PUDs could possibly be allowed to create a mobile vending court, with Bauer informing him that existing PUDs could petition the council to do something similar to what the amendment described.

The council soon voted to suspend the rules in order to pass the ordinance change, with Councilman Phillip Harris asking for an amendment to have mobile vendor courts be one component of mixed use developments.

The council unanimously passed the ordinance change as amended.