Editor,

I think a food truck in Langley is a cool idea. I agree that paying for the use of public property is very important. I do not think $100 per year and a $100 business license is enough.

If I owned a local restaurant and a food truck was able to park within say 75 feet of it, I’d be pretty hot under the collar knowing they were only paying $200 per year total to the city.

Restaurants pay a lot of money to exist anywhere.

Competition does breed success, but the rent for the use of the public space is far too cheap at the $100 I saw quoted in the newspaper.

I think that a percentage of their daily gross would be a possibility, but that seems pretty cumbersome for these small businesses. A flat fee of $500 per month or $25 per day seems better.

Points to consider:

• The food trucks will take away a parking spot.

• They will also be highly visible, even more visible than the local brick and mortar restaurants.

• The food trucks will not be subject to the same small signage requirements that the other restaurants are.

• In the summer, it does rain. This means that consumers will park as close to the truck as possible, sit in their cars and eat.

• This will mean if the trucks are in prime areas downtown Langley, the prime parking spots that merchants need will be used by food truck customers.

• The food truck customers may or may not actually go into the local businesses, so the food truck customer parking issue is very important, as is the location of the trucks.

I’d recommend that each Langley city officials who is involved in this decision go to Bubba’s in Freeland at lunch time and observe the crowd, before they decide where to place these food trucks.

LEANNE FINLAY

Freeland