Should people be able to buy street food in Ketchikan?
That’s a question up for debate Monday. Ketchikan’s borough assembly will consider whether to carve out an exception to a rule that prohibits mobile buildings downtown.
If passed, prospective food-truckers and other mobile retailers would be able to apply for a permit to set up shop — as long as they have a place off the street, like a parking lot.
To get the permit, the business owner would have to show officials that their business wouldn’t be a nuisance to neighbors.
The food truck proposal would also codify what planners say is a long-standing practice: As long as a vehicle doesn’t spend more than two hours in one place, food trucks can set up on private property without a permit from the planning department.
If passed Monday, entrepreneurs would be able to apply for a permit later this month.
In other business, Ketchikan’s assembly is set to discuss how officials can best respond to the borough’s ongoing housing shortage.
Planners recommend that the assembly authorize staff to form a diverse committee — homelessness advocates, real estate agents, bankers, among others. That committee would hold public meetings to determine the borough’s next steps.
But the assembly has a number of other options, including forming a housing authority that would be eligible for federal grants.
Ketchikan’s borough assembly will meet to discuss these and other topics at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the White Cliff building.
