Food Truck Mafia and the Castro Valley/Eden Area Chamber of Commerce want to add three more food trucks to the weekly Castro Valley food truck event, while Castro Village shopping center management asserts that long-term businesses and customers have been negatively impacted and the event should be moved to a different location “immediately.”

The Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) will tackle these conflicting food truck perspectives at Monday’s 6:00 p.m. meeting at the Castro Valley Library when it reviews the “conditions of approval” for Castro Valley’s weekly food truck event. Under the approved “Administrative Conditional User Permit,” the weekly Tuesday food truck event is scheduled to conclude on November 17, 2015 and start up again on February 2, 2016.

Alameda County Planning Department Staff Report
“Currently, the Food Truck event has successfully brought more people to the commercial district of downtown Castro Valley,” according to the Alameda County Planning Department staff report. “Chamber staff stated that since the food trucks event has operated, the event has brought more business to the downtown area on a notoriously slow night.”

Even though attendance has dropped in each successive week due to the parking situation and long walk, no merchant or property owner has complained to the Chamber or FTM [Food Truck Mafia] regarding parking difficulties on their properties. Also, out of the 11 survey responses sent back from 27 survey requests sent to nearby businesses, only 5 have experienced some inconvenience due to the parking situation during the event hours.”

Adding three trucks would push the event closer to Certified Tire building, which would in turn block an “access easement driveway” that cuts through the Certified Tire parking lot and provides access to the Village from Castro Valley Boulevard. Village management has been closing off the Patio Drive entrance into the Village, about 100 feet parallel to the easement that runs along the side of the Certified Tires building.

The Planning Department does not recommend an expansion of the food truck event until Food Truck Mafia, the Chamber, and the Castro Village property management come to a written agreement concerning the easement through the Certified Tire property.

Castro Village Management Perspective
Castro Village management has asserted that lack of parking in the village has impacted Village businesses and customers. Per the Planning Department report, Village management stated that the “Castro Village shopping center cannot support the foods truck event at this location due to the event’s limited parking which has effected on the Village’s long-term merchants and customers, and asks that the organizers immediately seek an alternative location where sufficient parking is available for the attendees.”

In its email to the County that was cited in the Planning Department report, Village management said that businesses experienced “loss of customers (up to 30% decline) each time the Food Truck event is held,” the Village was incurring costs of $500 per event associated with the four additional security guards hired to monitor the traffic in its parking lots, and that food trucks made parking inconvenient for Village customers during the event (citing the Tuesday Ross Dress for Less senior discount).

Castro Village Businesses’ Perspectives
I sought comment from a few businesses in the Village about the impact of food trucks. Michael, who works at Heath Unlimited and did not provide his last name, said that food trucks had “no detrimental effects” on business. Sandy Costa, the Weekend Manager at Castro Village Bowl, noticed that the parking lot was pretty full on Tuesday nights, particularly the first Tuesday of the food trucks.  She had to find another way to drive to the bowling alley because Patio Drive was closed for the duration of the event.

Eden Bicycles owner Chris Padavana said that he had not seen any impact on sales. “It’s more about the long-term,” Padavana said. “It’s about being a part of the community.” Eden has been sponsoring a bike valet at the weekly event.