ARLINGTON, Va.—Today, the Institute for Justice (IJ) sent a letter to city officials in Norwood, Ohio, calling on them to cease efforts to ban private property owners from inviting food trucks onto their properties. The city’s plan could violate the constitutional rights of Ohioans and harm both the public safety and local economy of Norwood. This is not IJ’s first interaction with Norwood’s government, as IJ defeated Norwood at the Ohio Supreme Court in a 2006 property rights case. 

“Food trucks help the local economy and make communities safer,” said IJ Senior Attorney Justin Pearson. “If Norwood’s property owners want to invite food trucks to operate on their land, city officials should be celebrating, not trying to stop them.” 

Discussions of this possible ban have come up during recent meetings between the Norwood City Council and the city’s Small Business & Economic Development Committee. However, any such ban could violate both the Ohio and U.S. Constitutions. Ohio state courts have a long history of ruling that unreasonable restrictions on competition violate the Ohio Constitution. Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that restricting one type of business to protect another—also known as economic protectionism—violates the U.S. Constitution.  

Moreover, IJ has established through more than a decade of research that food trucks positively impact local communities and their economies. In two separate studies from 2011 and 2012, for instance, IJ found that food trucks can help create jobs, improve public safety, and revitalize underused public spaces. Another IJ study concluded that growth in the number of food trucks often goes hand in hand with growth in the brick-and-mortar restaurant industry. 

IJ has a long history of fighting to protect property rights and the right to earn an honest living, both against the City of Norwood and around the nation. In 2006, IJ defeated the City of Norwood in a case protecting homeowners from losing their property through eminent domain for private redevelopment. This past term, IJ won its latest property rights case at the U.S. Supreme Court. Additionally, IJ has won two different U.S. Supreme Court cases on the right to earn an honest living. And as part of its National Street Vending Initiative, IJ has defeated dozens of anti-competitive laws that harm street vendors and food trucks, including victories in North Carolina, Georgia, and Kentucky, among many others.