By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Food — particularly, serving it outdoors — was on the menu Monday as the Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed a plan to permit food trucks to operate in town, and another proposal to close a downtown street to allow outside dining and live music.

The food truck idea stalled after encountering questions and concerns from commission members. 

But a proposal to recommend closing off Church Lane from April through the beginning of November for seasonal outside dining over the next three years was approved.

Dead end for food truck promoter’s idea

Although several commission members said they thought allowing food truck to park in town would be a fun idea, the plan — presented by Westport native Josh Noble — generated many questions from P&Z members during the commission’s “pre-application” review.

Noble’s plan would have allowed food trucks to act as  “pop-up cafes,” he said, holding “food events” in parking lots around Westport every two weeks.  

Among the parking lots Noble suggested in his plan were at the Westport-Weston Family YMCA and Christ and Holy Trinity Church and other local church lots. 

It was estimated the food trucks at lunchtime would serve about 45 people and as many as 90 “for the dinner rush,” he said.

Among the objections P&Z members had to the plan was Amie Tesler’s concern that out-of-town food truck vendors would be taking away customers from local restaurateurs. 

“We want to be loyal to everyone — the last months have been very difficult for them,” she said. “People who have been here are the backbone of our hospitality community.”

The Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce agreed, sending a letter to the P&Z expressing concerns about food trucks competing with local food establishments that pay high rents for the opportunity to operate in Westport.

Other concerns about the food truck project included worries about traffic in some of the potential spots Noble selected for food trucks, and possible complaints from neighbors.

Commissioner Marc Levey asked what the financial plan would be for the food truck events. Noble said the vendors would pay a flat fee to participate and that a portion of the revenue from the food sales would go to Noble’s company, The Garden, and possibly to the nonprofits where the food trucks parked during the events.

A staff report prepared by Michael Kiselak, a planner with the Planning and Zoning Department, noted the kind of operation proposed by Noble is not currently allowed under Westport zoning regulations. 

Allowing temporary parking for customers in parking lots already limited by zoning regulations would require a zoning change, and “food trucks are not presently a permitted use in any zoning district,” Kiselak said in the report. 

And if food trucks are permitted at an occasional special event, applicants have to apply for a special permit each time, which Noble said would be too difficult under his plan for bi-weekly events.

Many of the parking lots Noble listed for potential events either do not permit outdoor events, or would interfere with the already-established use, such as children being dropped off at church pre-schools.

“I love to eat, I love food trucks, but I don’t think that your idea is a great thing for Westport,” P&Z Chairwoman Danielle Dobin told Noble as she drew the commission’s discussion of his plan to a close.

Dobin suggested Noble instead consider opening a food hall, a popular idea in many places, where “stands are rented out to individual vendors” inside a building, she said.

Church Lane to close for three years

P&Z members were more enthusiastic about permitting a plan to close Church Lane to vehicular traffic and use for outdoor dining from April 1 through early November. 

An outgrowth of the COVID-19 pandemic, the street has been closed to traffic for the past two years during the spring and summer months to allow restaurants to set up outdoor dining facilities.

“This has revitalized Westport past 8 p.m.,” commented Tesler. “I think it’s great, it activates the stores, the community. I’m a big fan.”

Levey agreed. “I love the idea. I’d like to see this more in Westport, including in other locations,” he said.

The request for the street closure was presented by Maxxwell Crowley, president of the Westport Downtown Association, and referred to the P&Z by First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker. 

The downtown association has received many letters supporting the street closure from merchants, property owners and others, Crowley said. 

Although the association was looking for what it called a “temporary closure,” P&Z members discussed how the seasonal closure of the street might become permanent. After considering five- and three-year plans, they opted for a three-year plan that would eliminate the need to review the closure every year, as well as obtaining approval from the first selectwoman annually.

Two P&Z commissioners, John Bolton and Patrizia Zucaro, voted against the extended street closure request, saying they believe it should be reconsidered each year. 

But other commissioners, including Dobin, said the P&Z has to adapt to change, especially the enormous changes caused by the pandemic, such as fewer residents commuting and more young families moving into town. 

The P&Z “commissioners are looking at how times change and adapting to the changes,” she said. “There has been a change the way people use the downtown.”

Making Church Street a focal point for outside dining is a way to accommodate change, Dobin said.