The Madison Common Council unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday night that would move all late-night food carts to Library Mall by 2023.
The ordinance passed on Tuesday was an amended version of a previous plan to completely phase out late-night vending in the next five years. Co-sponsors of the ordinance Alders Zach Wood, District 8, and Mike Verveer, District 4, instead proposed moving the vending location to Library Mall, an area that would easier for law enforcement to monitor.
These proposals came in response to an incident that occurred in October of 2017, when a State Street food cart employee pointed an assault rifle at two men fighting nearby.
Dan Kennelly, Madison’s Office of Business Resources manager, stressed the multiple issues the city encounters with late-night food carts.
“Late-night vending has just always been a challenge for us,” he said. In particular, the city believes food carts encourage people to linger outside, which, when mixed with binge drinking, can lead to fights.
Kennelly was also present at last week’s meeting of the Vending Oversight Committee where he met with four operators of late-night food carts. At that meeting, city officials faced sharp backlash from the vendors, who disputed the view that their presence caused problems.
The city’s economic development director, Matt Mikolajewski, also highlighted problems caused by food carts, like the quality of the sidewalk once the carts leave. He reiterated the city’s support for food cart vendors but backed up their stance on the late-night issue.
“Our goal is to grow vending overall … just not late-night,” he said “There are opportunities for daytime vending.”
Representatives from the Madison Police Department also spoke at the council meeting. Field Lieutenant Brian Austin noted the police department’s support of the Library Mall plan.
“We feel like that is a phenomenal space,” he said. “It’s a much more controlled area.”
City extends nationwide search for Public Market Operator
The council also passed a motion reaffirming its intent to find an organization to act as Public Market Operator for the city’s planned Public Market. The Public Market, which will be located on the city’s east side, will act as a common facility for local businesses to sell their products, combined with local art installations and apartments.
According to the market’s business plan, while the market will be owned by the city, it will need day-to-day flexibility to operate efficiently. The city wants to find a non-profit organization with its own staff that can handle this role.
