ARLINGTON, VA—Today, the Court of Appeals of North Carolina reversed a ruling dismissing a case filed by the Institute for Justice (IJ) on behalf of a group of small business owners who want to operate food trucks in the city of Jacksonville, North Carolina. Under Jacksonville’s burdensome zoning rules, food trucks are effectively banned in over 96 percent of the city. The case will now be able to move forward at the trial court.

“The restrictions Jacksonville’s City Council put on food trucks serve no legitimate purpose.” said IJ Attorney Bob Belden. “Not only are these rules hurting entrepreneurs, but they also hurt the people of Jacksonville by denying them a convenient way to get something to eat. The City Council is just trying to protect brick-and-mortar restaurant profits from competition, and that’s no role for the government.” 

The lawsuit was brought by Nicole Gonzalez, the owner of Northwoods Urban Farm, who seeks to host food trucks on her property; Anthony “Tony” Proctor, owner of The Spot food truck; and Octavius “Ray” Raymond, the owner of The Cheesesteak Hustle food truck and its commissary.   

But the city has denied the right of Nicole to do business with Tony and Ray due to a series of excessive restrictions including:

• Property owners cannot host a food truck if the property falls within 250 feet of property containing another food truck, a restaurant or residential housing. 
• A food truck’s ability to advertise by limiting operators to one 5×5 sign with no external lighting, which cannot be above the truck and must be within 20 feet of the truck.   
• All food trucks must pay an arbitrary annual permit fee of $300 (for residents) or $500 (for non-residents), even though almost all food truck oversight comes from the county and state, not the city. This is much higher than neighboring towns, some of which do not charge any fee at all. 

“Jacksonville’s rules have made it impossible for me to operate in the city,” Ray said. “Instead, I’ve been forced to go to other cities to do business. This doesn’t just hurt me; it hurts my customers. I’m excited to move forward with this case.” 

IJ is a public interest law firm with a mission to protect individual’s constitutional rights. In the past, IJ has stood up for the rights of food truck owners to earn an honest living all over the country by defeating similar ordinances that limit where food trucks may operate. Nearby, in Carolina Beach, IJ’s lawsuit led town officials to repeal an unconstitutional law which required food truck owners to also own a brick-and-mortar store; in Fort Pierce, Florida, IJ helped defeat a law that banned food trucks within 500 feet of an established restaurant; and in Louisville, IJ beat a law that blocked food trucks from serving within 150 feet of any establishment that serves food. 

#  #  #

To arrange interviews on this subject, journalists may contact Phillip Suderman, IJ’s Communications Project Manager, at [email protected] or (850) 376-4110. More information on the case is available at: https://ij.org/case/north-carolina-food-trucks/