Council Walks Back Food Truck Curfew

Food trucks parked on N. Water Street. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

In a unanimous decision Tuesday, the Milwaukee Common Council voted to repeal the controversial curfew that prohibited food trucks from operating after 10 p.m. in the Water Street entertainment district and after 11 p.m. citywide.

The council’s decision follows a unanimous Public Safety & Health Committee vote to withdraw the curfew in light of a lawsuit brought against the city on behalf of a food truck owner.

Judge Jean Kies blocked the curfew from taking effect while the lawsuit played out. As a result, Alderman Robert Bauman, who introduced the original ordinance, introduced the repeal, with a stated goal of avoiding years of litigation.

The 10 p.m. curfew was a proposed solution to limit violence associated with late-night loitering in the Water Street entertainment district. Supporters argued late-night food trucks draw loitering, and subsequently, disorder and criminal activity.

Those opposed argued that food truck owners should not be treated differently than nearby bar and restaurant owners, some of which stay open until 2 a.m. The lawsuit, filed by Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty on behalf of The Fatty Patty, argued the ordinance violated the food truck owner’s right to earn a living.

Bauman, in an interview with Urban Milwaukee on Sept. 1, said he doesn’t believe the council can solve the Water Street violence issue at this point. “We have no legislative solution,” he said on Sept. 1.

He said more attention from the Milwaukee Police Department and support from area stakeholders is needed.

“I think there needs to be a much larger police presence so they can actually enforce quality-of-life ordinances,” said Bauman.

The issue was debated at length during the Sept. 11 Public Safety & Health Committee meeting.

The Tuesday repeal reinstates the original citywide food truck curfew of 1 a.m., but the committee discussed the potential to pursue a midnight curfew.

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