The site plan for a proposed food truck concept will not appear on Monday’s Argyle Town Council agenda as planned after the town and applicant agreed to reassess the project.
Akshya Foods, co-owned by Argyle resident Pavan Damarapati, had proposed a 32-foot trailer serving Indian-style cuisine along Hwy 377 near Denton Street.
The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the plan 4-2 on March 4. However, Town Manager Mike Sims said Damarapati withdrew the request late Friday after both sides raised concerns about traffic safety and fire truck access at the site.
Denton County ESD Nos. 1 and 2 review applications for fire safety and initially understood the proposal as a come-and-go concept involving multiple food trucks.
Instead, Akshya Foods planned to operate a single stationary trailer with about 1,300 square feet of indoor seating in an existing building and 400 square feet of outdoor patio seating.
“We expressed concerns about standard issues like landscaping, trees, how outdoor dining will be handled,” Sims said.
The applicant agreed to remove the outdoor seating to add parking spaces, bringing the project into compliance with the town’s parking requirements.
However, that change altered the concept enough that fire officials requested additional review, delaying the project.
“Denton County ESD isn’t going to have that analysis done by Monday — that’s not fair to our council members to vote on it and that’s not fair to the applicant if they don’t know what fire is going to say,” Sims said. “So, we just need to slow it down and let some additional review take place.”
Concerns about parking, outdoor dining regulations and overall compatibility were also raised during the Planning and Zoning meeting.
“I just don’t think [Highway] 377 is the proper place for food truck development,” said commissioner Marilyn Lewis, one of two members who voted against the proposal.
Commissioner Matt Nelson, who also voted against approval, said he supported the idea but questioned its long-term viability.
“I have questions about the viability of it,” he said. “I think it would be good, but only at certain times.”
Despite the concerns, town officials said the concept could fit within Argyle’s Old Town District with further refinement.
“We need Old Town uses that provide a pedestrian environment — that is the essential vision of Old Town,” said Director of Development Harrison Wicks. “The description is to create pedestrian-level things, and this can be one of those things.”
The delay also gives the town an opportunity to clarify how food trucks and trailers are defined in its zoning ordinances.
“This concept is being handled as a restaurant because they happen to be a stationary food truck with an indoor kitchen,” Sims said. “So that’s the definition they fell into, but we did realize that we should probably go ahead and write a definition for food truck parks and where they belong in town.”
Wicks said the property has been vacant for about 18 months, largely due to a lack of parking, and the project could help address that issue.
“There are no spaces on this property, so the only way to develop it is to build the spaces,” he said. “These owners live in town and are willing to build the parking lot — I think it’s worth a shot.”
