(Pictured: Stephen Macauley, Erica Lerma de Macauley, and their children Eva, Damian, and Ariela)
Below is interview correspondence with Erica Lerma de Macauley. Island Matters sent questions and Lerma de Macauley responded via email.
[NOTE: Bolds by author]
1. Tell me about the case. What is a good timeline of the chain of events?
SurfVive had been working on the community garden in Port Isabel and teaching free surf lessons, and we were looking for a way to raise money to fund these projects in a way that would also spread our message of healthy, local eating. We knew a food truck serving healthy, homegrown food would be a great way to do both!
We thought that South Padre Island was allowing food trucks, but when we were ready to apply, we learned the permit cap allowing for only 6 trucks had been reached. We decided that we'd continue looking for gigs on Cameron County property, where our food truck was already fully permitted. Then we got an e-mail from the SPI Health Director saying that the City had raised its permit cap from 6 to 12, and that we were welcome to apply. We were confused by the "Local Establishment Sponsor" section of the application, and thought we'd be good with the permission from the landowner of a shopping center on the island. After submitting our application, we were asked to come into the Health Director's office. He explained to me that we also needed permission from a restaurant owner on the island, even if we weren't setting up near one.
Our food truck was completely self-contained, including contracts for waste disposal, so we weren't sure why this would be. I was then told that adding this provision was the only way the ordinance would pass. After my meeting with the Health Director, I watched some of the archived City Meetings in which the food truck ordinance was discussed. I learned the original food truck ordinance proposed by the Health Director and Mayor Patel DID NOT have the provisions limiting the number of food trucks or requiring them to have permission from a restaurant.
These two provisions of the ordinance were added after a group of restaurant owners came to the City and complained. They were very vocal about not wanting food trucks to compete with their businesses and managed to convince the City to change the ordinance in their favor. I didn't think it was proper for restaurant owners to use their influence in the City to limit competition, so that's when I contacted the Institute for Justice.
2. When was this lawsuit filed? How long has it been, and why did you choose to sue for only $1?
It has been almost two years since the lawsuit was filed. People asked us why we didn't just go to the City and ask them to change the law, but we knew they wouldn't listen to us. Even though we grew up on the island, we didn't have the same influence and connections as the group of people opposed to the food trucks. Mayor Patrick McNulty publicly accused me of suing for financial gain, but we never wanted any money from the lawsuit. We only wanted justice.
3. Was it you that noticed that emergency meeting in December of 2019? What are your thoughts about that?
Jerry Leal, owner of the Pineapple Ninjas food truck, noticed the emergency meeting in December of 2019 and let me know about it. I don't think anyone really knew what the meeting would be about given the short notice. I feel like the City tried to turn other food truck owners against us, trying to make it seem like we are the reason for the strict laws. Many influential people in our community tried to paint us in a negative light, making it seem like we didn't think food trucks should have to follow any rules at all. The truth is we agreed with all of the provisions of the ordinance that actually had to do with health & safety, like the sanitation and temperature rules that any other business serving food has to follow. We even agreed with the rules that prohibited food trucks from setting up on public property. But the laws limiting the number of food trucks operating on private property just didn't sit right with us. No other type of business operating on privately owned commercial property is limited in this way... why food trucks? And why should we have to ask our competition for permission? Competition is good for business. It makes businesses step up their game, and more options attract more people. We never thought that food trucks would be a legitimate threat to restaurants, where people can sit back, relax, and be served their food. They are two completely different experiences. Why can't there be room for both?
4. In the leading attorney's MJS, Mr. Panju wrote that simple city information couldn’t be verbally given to you. You had to send in a public information request. Did you experience any difficulty obtaining information from the city at any time?
When I learned about a group of restaurant owners who were given the authority to change the food truck ordinance proposed by the Health Director and Mayor Patel, I wanted to find out who was in this group. None of these meetings were recorded or made available on the City's website. I couldn't find any postings of when they even took place. I only knew about them because the Health Director told me about them. I asked him who was a part of these meetings but wouldn't tell me. He gave me a Public Information Request form to fill out. Two weeks later I received this answer: "This was an ad hoc committee headed by Arnie Creinin from Gabriella's. Owners from Parrot Eyes, PadreRitaGrill, Padre Island Brewing Company, Louie's Backyard, Pier 19, Laguna Bob's, were invited to participate." I found out later that there were more people on this committee too, but I'm not sure why they weren't disclosed at the time.
5. I noticed on your Facebook that you were disappointed in channel 5 for not "telling the real story." What are some things that you want the public to know about this lawsuit?
I wanted the public to know that we aren't opposed to all food truck regulations. We never said that food trucks should just be able to pull up wherever they want and start selling food. We are okay with food trucks only setting up on private property in commercially zoned areas and even having a commissary if they need one. What we are not okay with is the City limiting businesses by an arbitrary number or requiring that a business’s ask permission from its competitors before opening.
6. Future: Are you preparing your food truck and planning on opening soon?
We haven't taken any more steps to open our food truck on the island yet because it takes a lot of time and money to do so and the future still seems unclear. At this point the City is still enforcing the permit cap and restaurant permission requirement even though the District Court clearly found these provisions to be unconstitutional. It seems like they want to drag this out as long as possible and keep us from operating.
7. What are some things you will be serving? Any specialty menu items?
All the food we serve is fresh, organic, and/or locally grown. Our specialty is the Pitaya Bowl, which is a dragon fruit smoothie topped with fruit and granola.
8. What are some things you want the public to know?
A big misconception about food trucks is that they don't pay any taxes or money to the City. Food trucks have some of the highest permitting fees on the island. In fact, the $500 per month permit fee is higher than what many restaurants pay in Island property taxes each year. Plus, every food truck on the island is set up on private property, and the owner of that property is already paying property taxes to the City. On top of permit fees and rent to private property owners, food trucks also have to take out several different types of insurance as required by law. It's not cheap and it's not easy. Food truck owners should be respected and valued just like any other business owner attracting visitors and bringing revenue to the City.
