City officials say the controversial policy, first enacted in 2022, is an effort to reduce crime in the nightlife district.
The city of Denver is once again banning food trucks in a popular nightlife district, citing crowds and crime despite lower violent crime rates. As Alayna Alvarez explains in Axios, “The crackdown on food truck operators was first put in place in July 2022 following a police shooting in LoDo that injured six bystanders. Law enforcement denied the incident prompted the restrictions.”
The policy, unpopular with local businesses, was repealed a month later before being revived last week. “The mayor's move marks a 180-degree turn from his stance last year on the campaign trail, when he indicated during a debate that he would bring back food trucks to downtown's late-night scene.”
The original ban was criticized for being potentially unconstitutional. Institute for Justice attorney Justin Pearson told the Denver Post the ban is “a horrible idea,” noting that the city is “taking away options for people to sober up before they head home.”
FULL STORY: Denver's downtown food truck ban is back
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research