By Adam Swift
A change in the city’s food truck ordinance could mean more foot traffic for the Revere Historical Society Museum on Beach Street.
Last week, the city council approved a change in the ordinance, allowing for a food truck to park in the museum parking lot at 108 Beach Street from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
According to council legislative affairs Chair Paul Argenzio, the license commission could grant applicants to operate at the location leeway for extended hours at the location.
The legislative affairs subcommittee recommended approval of the ordinance change after several amendments were made to the original motion. The committee agreed to move the start time from 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. after there were some concerns about food trucks causing traffic issues when school was dismissed at the nearby Immaculate Conception school.
In addition, after some councillors raised concerns about the potential use of generators to power the trucks, the council agreed that the food trucks would be able to tap into the city’s electrical supply for a nominal fee.
Sewall Street resident Ed Terrell said he liked the idea of a food truck in the area, but that he did not believe the parking lot of the historical society was the right location.
“The parking lot of the Historical Society is really, really tight and people don’t always park in the proper places,” he said. “It is very congested, and now we are talking about possibly a five-story building going in where the old 7-11 was.”
Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya said there was some question about whether the historical museum staff wanted to see the food truck in the parking lot.
“The museum does want it, they want more foot traffic and think by having the food truck outside, even for just a few hours, it would generate more foot traffic into the museum so that people know that it is actually there,” she said.
Councillor-at-Large Robert Haas, III said he also spoke to museum staff and that they were in support of the ordinance change.
Haas said his only question about the ordinance change was if there would be a rotating variety of food trucks at the museum.
Argenzio said what food trucks will be at the location will largely be under the purview of the licensing commission.
