Planned Collier County food truck park deals with zoning issues

On Tuesday, the Collier County Board of Commissioners will take up the battle over whether or not a new food truck park can be built in Isles of Capri.

The land intended for the construction is not zoned for a food truck park, and the park is not comparable to or compatible with a restaurant; because it is not a brick-and-mortar facility, it does not meet Collier County’s definition of a restaurant, even though Florida considers individual food trucks to be restaurants

For the people that work at Celebration Park, an already-established food truck park at 2880 Becca Ave. in Naples, it’s not just about the trucks: the goal is to get the community together in one place.

“The idea was to have food trucks where you get a price of $20 to $25 [per meal]… maybe you don’t have to go downtown or whatever,” said Gary Rudd Jr., operations manager at Celebration Park. “You have a drink by the water, skinny margarita. Celebration Park, right across the street from the [Three]60 Market, they’ve got low wine prices… the idea was to bring people to this side of town.”

Isles of Capri is hoping to open the park in December. If Tuesday’s appeal is approved or denied, we can expect to see a fiscal impact on Collier County, as both sides of issue could appeal to the courts.

“We’re excited,” Rudd Jr. said. “We’re always happy to see everything grow. We continue to get busier. You know, we’ve got a county that supports us… a loving county, and we’re happy to be at one of the prettiest cities in the world.”