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By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor 

ALABASTER – After hearing feedback from residents and initially tabling the ordinance, the Alabaster City Council officially approved an update to its food truck ordinance during a meeting on Sept. 29.

Over the last couple of months, the Alabaster City Council has been discussing an update to its food truck ordinance, which had not been updated since 2016. According to Mayor Scott Brakefield, the ordinance was not being properly enforced and needed to be updated.

“Years ago, food trucks became a very popular thing and the city adopted a food truck ordinance,” Alabaster Mayor Scott Brakefield said. “To be perfectly transparent, the city did a poor job of enforcing that food truck ordinance over the years, and now it’s come to light that we need to address some of those situations that are occurring across our city as it relates to food trucks.”

Throughout the duration of crafting the new ordinance, the City Council and mayor worked with city attorney Jeff Brumlow to reshape the language and regulations to be based on public feedback and similar ordinances in nearby municipalities.

After creating a new draft of the ordinance, the city brought the proposed ordinance before the public during a hearing on Monday, Sept. 8. After receiving feedback from several residents at the meeting, the council decided to table the ordinance for further discussion and to make more changes.

During a work session on Sept. 25, the council discussed the proposed revision further. One previously proposed change was to restrict food trucks from operating at the same location for more than three days within any seven-day period, regardless of whether the days were consecutive. Brakefield suggested the council remove the new restriction due to concerns over the ability to properly enforce the restriction.

During a regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 29, the Alabaster City Council unanimously voted to approve the amendments to the city’s food truck ordinance.

“We’re trying to protect our brick-and-mortar restaurants through this change in this ordinance,” said Rick Ellis, councilperson for Alabaster’s Ward 2.

The approved ordinance now repeals and replaces Sections 8-181 through 8-184 of the code of ordinances and introduces a few changes.

A new penalty is now added to the ordinance for “any business owner, property owner or on-site manager who knowingly permits or authorizes a mobile food unit to operate in violation of this article.”

Under the section regarding license and permitting, the language includes that applicants shall pay the city a nonrefundable $200 inspection fee for the first mobile food unit and $25 for each additional unit. However, traveling food vendors and businesses that own brick-and-mortar locations in the city of Alabaster may add a mobile food unit to their current business license for a $25 inspection fee.

Under the new ordinance, hours of operation for all mobile food units have been expanded from the original slot of 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. to now be from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. During daylight savings time, mobile food units can remain open until 11 p.m.

All mobile food units are required to be removed from their site of operation outside of operating hours and no overnight storage or parking of mobile food units is allowed at any location unless approved in writing by a city zoning official.

Those interested in reading the full ordinance may visit Cityofalabaster.com/161/City-Council and select the agenda for the Sept. 29 council meeting.

In other business, the Alabaster City Council approved the following items on the agenda:

• A franchise agreement with UnitiFiber Gulfco LLC for constructing and maintaining a fiber-optic transmission line and system within the city’s rights-of-way and streets.
• An amendment to the city’s business license ordinance
• Suspending the rules for immediate consideration of an Alabaster ordinance determining that the number of branch circuits, general purpose outlets in all occupancy types shall be calculated at 180 volt-amperes
• Fixed the cost for abatement at 377 Simsville Road in the amount of $4,784.11
• The 2026 employee holiday schedule
• Update of the city of Alabaster payment plan reflecting a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment
• The amendment of a resolution concerning a moratorium on new construction in the Mountain Lakes subdivision to allow for two additional residential buildings
• An agreement with Eastcoast Entertainment related to a concert held at the Alabaster amphitheater in the amount not to exceed $11,750
• The adoption of the fiscal year 2026 budget
• Set a public hearing for Monday, Nov. 10, at 6:30 p.m. for the abatement of weeds at three vacant lots on Kingsley Road