The city of Somerville is going ahead with plans to host mobile food vendors, and the first trucks will appear at the new, weekly craft market called Assembled, at Assembly Row starting May 18. The market will run for 16 dates, through September, and will feature some of the following trucks on a rotating basis, though a representative for the market says that Bon Me will be there every time. In non-edible offerings, there will also be Boston Etsy artists selling their wares. See below for the truck lineup and market schedule.

http://boston.eater.com/archives/2013/05/01/somerville-finally-getting-food-trucks-on-may-18.php

After months of deliberation, the Board of Aldermen passed an ordinance last night that gives them the deciding power over licensing and placement of food trucks throughout the city.

Discussion on the ordinance brought out activists, residents, and business owners hoping to craft legislation that would be beneficial to Somerville while being fair to current brick and mortar restaurants. Ideas such as offering cuisine that complimented current choices in the area and being available when restaurants closed for the evening were vetted out during the lengthy process of finalizing the language.

According to the ordinance, food truck operators will have to be licensed annually, can operate between 8am and 9pm, but can seek a special license to operate outside of those hours. A higher fee would accompany the approval of such a request. Licenses will have to be posted at all times during operation and they will be encouraged to serve healthy options on recyclable materials.

http://www.ward5online.com/2012/10/board-of-aldermen-pass-food-truck.html

Credit Chris Masci

Somerville Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz, who chairs the Board of Aldermen’s legislative matters committee that’s currently drafting an ordinance to regulate food trucks in the city, spoke about the effort on the Sept. 18 episode of “Greater Somerville.”

The committee has been working on the ordinance for about seven months, and Gewirtz was relatively candid when talking about the direction the draft ordinance has taken.

Somerville Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz

Many aldermen, for instance, want a pilot program for food trucks, but Gewirtz questioned that concept.

“The Board of Aldermen is going to look at every [food truck] application, so what does a pilot program mean?” she asked on the show.

“We crafted an ordinance which allows the Board of Aldermen to take into account every possible scenario of welfare and convenience to the city,” she said.

She also said that some people in many of the city’s different squares all want to be part of pilot programs, and starting a program in one square might leave others out.

On the idea that food truck operators undergo criminal offender record information (CORI) checks, Gewirtz said the committee was looking into that requirement.

Gewirtz didn’t seen to think CORI checks are necessary, and she said, chuckling, “I don’t understand why we’re getting CORI checks from a guy who wants to have a falafel food truck or sell Chinese food.”

“There are people who feel that’s important, so as chair of the committee, I will, of course, we’ll hear it, we’ll take it into account, we’ll see if that’s something that makes sense.”

She added, “I think we have to be cautious that we’re not putting regulations on certain businesses … that we’re not applying to everybody. And how do you singal out certain businesses for these sorts of things … where does it end?”

Another guest on the show, Christine Liu, online managing editor of America’s Test Kitchen, said debates about food trucks are taking place in other communities in the area, including Boston.

A supporter of food trucks, Liu said, “The appetite for cool ideas and cool food in Somerville has come to an all-time high.”

http://somerville.patch.com/articles/gewirtz-gives-candid-assessment-of-food-truck-ordinance-on-greater-somerville

“I think we want to put some more conditions on it,” said Ward 3 Alderman Thomas F. Taylor

If aldermen in Somerville can quickly work out the details by September of a long-awaited law regulating food trucks, the mobile eateries could turn up in Union Square before the end of fall, two aldermen said. The ordinance, which calls for a pilot program to introduce the trucks in the square, is currently under consideration by the legislative matters committee, where details about licensing fees, state and local taxes, hours of operation, and other provisions are worked out. “I think we want to put some more conditions on it,” said Ward 3 Alderman Thomas F. Taylor, a committee member. “But I suspect we could have a pilot program by September.” Ward 2 Alderwoman Maryann Heuston, whose district includes the pilot area, said that residents could see the trucks featured in the last SomerStreets festival slated for Oct. 28 along Somerville Avenue. “If we get something on the books by September, we can entice some [vendors] to do something in the short term,” she said.

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/somerville/articles/2012/08/05/food_trucks_could_be_bound_for_union_square_before_end_of_fall/