SAN ANTONIO -- The city may be changing its food truck regulations over concerns they punish people for feeding the homeless.
On Tuesday, the city's Quality of Life Commission met with DHS and members of public safety to talk about an incident in which a business owner was fined for being a good Samaritan.
Joan Cheever, the owner of the non-profit Chow Train, was given a $2,000 ticket earlier in the month while serving meals at Maverick Park. She was cited for serving the meals out of a pickup truck, rather than her licensed food truck.
City Councilman Ron Nirenberg said the incident has attracted intense public scrutiny, but adds that the fault lies not with the police who enforced the rules, but with the rules themselves.
"When there are failings of the city, it's not necessarily on the people that are executing the policy," said Nirenberg, the Councilman from District 8. "It's usually a gap or a shortcoming in policy."
The meeting was just a briefing, meaning no decisions were made. Nirenberg said he envisions a much wider conversation about the best ways to care for the homeless and provide permanent relief. But in the short-term, he said he hopes to come up with a quick fix so that people like Cheever can continue to deliver food.
Cheever told KENS 5 she's glad to hear some city leaders are looking to see if the current city ordinances can be fixed. She adds, no matter what vehicle she serves her food out of, it's safe and provides a good meal to some of the city's most vulnerable.
"This is my hometown and this is not San Antonio, we are a city of love and compassion and I'm sorry that this happened and I'm sorry that they wrote me a ticket, but this (story) has gone around the world," said Joan Cheever.
Cheever told KENS 5 she spent about 2 hours in a lawyers office Tuesday and is prepared to fight the battle until the very end.
