Photo by Susan Adcock for the Hispanic Nashville Notebook
According to this story in the Tennessean, the Metro Council is renewing its attempts to restrict the legal businesses of taco vendors. Tonight's meeting of the Council will include the second vote on space-related proposals, such as rules to keep taco vendors from setting up shop within 1,500 feet of one another. The Metro Planning Department has already voted against the proposals, which means that the bill would need a supermajority to pass the Council in the final vote, if it gets that far.

Previous proposals to ban the trucks outright left Nashville with a negative national reputation that is proving hard to shake, as evidenced by this December 2005 column and this June 2006 column.

Previous articles in the Hispanic Nashville Notebook have followed the history of these proposals from their emergence in November 2005:

Legal taco stands would close in proposed ban

Taco stand ban sparked by competing restaurants, but recent survey shows high scores

Mobile food trailer ban on hold; family businesses await decision

Nashville cited in list of "irrational" acts against Hispanics in 2005

Proposed taco ban on Council calendar again

Taco ban deferred again

City government still tweaking taco stand laws

update July 7, 2006: The Council amended the measure to exempt all currently licensed food vendors, leading to its unanimous approval on second vote, according to this article in the City Paper.

Focus: Business
Focus: Justice

Labels: business, council, negativity