Nampa city leaders are weighing a new mobile food vendor ordinance that a public interest law firm says would unconstitutionally squeeze food trucks out of business, while two local vendors warn the rules would force them to shut down or leave town entirely. The Nampa City Council is set to consider a vote on the proposal at Nampa City Hall, according to the article that first reported the dispute.
The Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm based in Arlington, Virginia, wrote to city leaders last week asking them to strip out the proposal's toughest restrictions, as reported by KTVB. The organization also published its own account of the dispute, saying it is urging them to strike the ordinance's most restrictive provisions. The group argues several proposed rules violate the state and federal constitutions, and its Cities Work initiative says it has studied food truck regulations in more than 20 cities.
Justin Pearson, a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice who leads its national street vending initiative, said the city is targeting practices that have caused no problems for years. Nampa is targeting business practices that have gone on for years without a single problem just to stop food trucks from competing with restaurants, Pearson said. He added that government should not be picking winners and losers in the marketplace — that decision, he said, belongs to consumers.
What the Draft Ordinance Would Change
The proposed code would replace Nampa's current multi-permit process — which today requires a Temporary Use Permit and a Solicitor's License, per the City of Nampa — with a single mobile food vendor license. City staff have said the goal is to simplify the process and keep food vendors genuinely mobile rather than functioning like permanent restaurants, according to BoiseDev.
Under the draft rules, trucks would face a ban on overnight parking and operating hours limited to 9 a.m. through 11 p.m. in non-residential zones. Drive-thrus would be prohibited outright, and the ordinance would also forbid seating, umbrellas, flags and portable signs at food trucks, according to the Institute for Justice. Nampa's existing zoning code already bars vendors from parking overnight between midnight and 6 a.m. and restricts advertising to the vendor vehicle itself, per city code obtained by the City of Nampa.
The proposal would also cap each parking lot at one food truck unless a property owner secures a conditional-use permit for a designated food truck court, which would require a hearing and a $350 fee. Separately, vendors selling on public property would need written permission from neighboring property owners — a requirement the Institute for Justice calls blatantly protectionist.
Vendors Say the Rules Would Force Them Out
Rae-Ann Stine, who co-owns The Perking Spot coffee trailer, told KTVB that most of her sales come before the proposed 9 a.m. opening time, meaning the restriction amounts to a shutdown order for her business. She said losing her most profitable hours while also losing overnight parking would force her to close, and that her trailer simply would no longer be there.
Mike Ashton, who runs a Karie Anne's Italian Ice and Custard trailer with Jourdan Ashton, told the station the overnight-parking ban and limits on utility hookups would force them to leave Nampa. The pair said they need constant power to keep goods frozen overnight and a steady water line to make Italian ice fresh to order — needs the proposed rules would not accommodate. Both Stine and Ashton said some council members and Mayor Darl Bruner had spoken with them or visited their trucks to understand how the proposal would affect their businesses.
City Weighs Pushback Against Over-Regulation Concerns
Nampa truck owners received notice of the proposed changes on September 30 without prior warning, and could not review the actual ordinance language until the day it was first scheduled for a vote, according to the Institute for Justice. Several mobile food vendors spoke against the changes during open public comment at an October 5 council meeting, BoiseDev reported, and some council members voiced concern that the restrictions could amount to overregulation and strain city staff enforcing them. The council subsequently delayed its decision to allow more discussion and hear further from vendors, KTVB reported.
Nampa City Councilmember Sebastian Griffin has floated an alternative, suggesting a temporary permit for trailers on private property modeled on one used in neighboring Meridian, according to the Idaho Press. A 2023 draft of the ordinance had classified violations as a misdemeanor or infraction and allowed for license revocation or denial of a future license for up to three years, according to city meeting records.
Institute for Justice Points to Its Own Research and Track Record
Zoe Tishaev, a city policy coordinator with the Institute for Justice who co-wrote the letter to Nampa leaders, said the organization stands ready to help city staff write a food truck code that addresses health and safety without needlessly impeding entrepreneurs. The group has asked the council to drop the overnight parking ban and the per-lot truck cap, hold off on the proposed operating hours, and scrap the neighbor sign-off requirement — proposing instead to replace the challenged rules with narrower requirements targeting genuine safety problems.
The Institute for Justice points to an analysis of 12 years of county-level census data that it says found restaurant numbers kept growing even as food trucks entered local markets, suggesting growth in food trucks goes hand in hand with growth in restaurants rather than at their expense. The group argues food trucks draw customers into neighborhoods in ways that benefit nearby businesses, including restaurants. It also says it has won dozens of fights against food truck restrictions nationwide, including court victories in Wisconsin, North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida and Texas.
