Food Truck Owners Lose Court Battle Over Ordinance Rules
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Food truck owners in Chicago have been served another loss in court.
The ban on food trucks within 200 feet of brick-and-mortar restaurants is neither arbitrary nor unreasonable, according to one of the appellate court justices who unanimously rejected a challenge to the law. WBBM's Nancy Harty reports.
"The city has a critical interest in maintaining a thriving food service industry, of which brick-and-mortar establishments are an essential part," wrote appeals court Justice Sheldon A. Harris. "The 200-foot exclusion represents a rational means of ensuring the general welfare of the city and is neither arbitrary nor unreasonable."
The decision affirms a lower court ruling made against Laura Pekarik and her cupcake truck a year ago. That is when Pekarik said she was not driving in Chicago much because of the 2012 ordinance.
"Opportunities are not the same as it once was. Due to the research, more and more food trucks entering the market and the competition becoming greater and there are limited parking positions," she said.
Lawyers for the Institute of Justice, which the Sun Times said has ties to the Koch brothers, represented the food trucks in the legal fight for free.