Food truck owners who have operated on private church land along Southeast Maricamp Road for years are now facing county code violations — and still no clear path forward.

Marion County cited the landowner for issues including establishing permanent structures and building in a power easement. The county considers the operation a commercial business destination with an impact on county infrastructure similar to that of a fast-food restaurant.

The problem, owners say, is the county has never clearly defined the difference between roadside vendors and food trucks.

“The county is supposed to embrace small business,” said Jason Roock, owner of Detroit Brothers Pizza. “Where is that embrace?”

A year and a half of back-and-forth

The food trucks operate on land owned by Tim Fiorello, a pastor at a nearby church. Fiorello said he has been receiving violations and going back and forth with the county for about a year and a half.

Early violations cited land development — something the county later acknowledged was incorrect. A subsequent violation listed land conservation, but still offered little direction on what vendors should do next.

“If these vendors have to move these trucks to different spots all the time, it’s not only a nightmare for them, but their sales are going to go down,” Fiorello said.

Commissioners call for rewrite, but no timeline set

At a commission meeting in August, commissioners said county staff needs to reword the language in the ordinance. That revision would then go through a review process — but as of now, no dates have been set.

During that meeting, a commissioner acknowledged the challenge of balancing entrepreneur access with the county’s land use intentions.

“A fixed location needs to be like a restaurant, and so we’ve got to figure out to allow the entrepreneur to do their business, but it needs to be what it was purposed to be in a food truck and be able to be mobile,” a commissioner said at the meeting.

Owners say a decade of history should count for something

Fiorello argues that a location with nearly 10 years of food truck history deserves clearer guidance from the county.

“We’re not trying to be anything other than a place that’s safe for the community to come in, pick up great food and go home and eat,” he said.

County staff is currently working on revised ordinance language. No timeline for review or adoption has been announced.