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Over-sized food trucks want a stake in Medford Quinton Cutting-Johnson serves up stir fry at his food cart Wok Star Tuesday on West Eighth Street in Medford. Mail Tribune / Denise Baratta Tuesday Dec 13, 2016 at 4:50 PM Dec 14, 2016 at 9:25 AM Damian Mann Mail Tribune @reporterdm Bigger food trucks in Medford have once again become an issue for the city after earlier this year it turned down a request by Buttercloud Bakery and Cafe to park a 200-square-foot rolling kitchen near downtown. City Council members have expressed concerns about large food trucks competing with brick-and-mortar restaurants that shoulder more responsibility for fees and requirements. Local food vendors, however, say there should be room for diversity. "Food trucks are great," Quinton Cutting-Johnson of Wok Star food truck said. "Give everybody the chance." He said he wasn't concerned about competing with food trucks that are larger than his, citing the difficulty any restaurant, including a food truck, has of surviving. The issue came up in September when Buttercloud, which has a fixed location at 310 Genessee St., sank $50,000 into a food truck, only to discover that it was 30 square feet larger than allowed by the city. As a result, Buttercloud decided to temporarily locate the truck in Central Point next to Rogue Creamery until Medford had a chance to discuss changing its rules. The Medford Planning Commission studied the issue Monday, gearing up for a possible vote on it sometime in January. Medford has a long history with food trucks, adopting a 128-square-foot maximum size in 1993. In 1997, the City Council denied a request to increase the limit to 153 square feet. In 2010, the council increased the size to 170 square feet outside the downtown area — based on a request from Rogue BBQ — but in the core downtown food trucks can be only 128 square feet, a compromise reached after downtown restaurants voiced opposition to competing with larger mobile outlets. The Planning Commission asked planning staff to review the issue before it comes back for a vote. "Basically they want more detail," planner Kyle Kearns said. He said the city has an equity concern about food trucks and regular restaurants, which have previously opposed any size increases. Kearns said other Oregon cities have a variety of regulations surrounding food trucks. Portland requires food trucks to be 16 feet or less, while Bend allows up to 250 square feet. Grants Pass, Central Point and Eugene have no limitation on size. Phoenix has a 170-square-foot limit, while Corvallis has a 128-square-foot maximum size or 16 feet in length. Ellen Holub, co-owner of Buttercloud, said she did not think the city was going to pursue the issue anymore until she got a call from the Planning Department about a week ago. "We're obviously pleased that Medford is considering other options," she said. Buttercloud is a busy restaurant, and it was looking at a food truck to take some of the pressure off its current location. "Central Point is great, but our whole purpose is to be close by to the bakery," she said. "That's why we would like to be in Medford." Holub had hoped to place the food truck relatively close to Buttercloud, next to the post office on Riverside Avenue, to handle takeout orders. She said her main goal is to park the food truck on private property with plenty of space around it. Medford has several areas where food trucks cluster, including near the post office, at Digger's on Riverside, and at the southeast corner of Eighth and Fir streets. Steen Turner of Nguyen Street Food said he generally has no objection to larger food trucks. A professional cook for 20 years, Turner said he's lived in areas where food trucks of any size are not allowed. — Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.