The City of Kitchener says driving food trucks out of the city is not the intended goal of a new set of rules governing their presence – but some operators say that’s exactly what may happen.

Under the proposed rules, food trucks would be permitted to operate in McLennan Park, the Huron Natural Area, Southwest Optimist Park and the Huron Business Park at all hours.

Operating anywhere else – including downtown – would only be allowed on certain days, during certain events and with certain permits needed.

Cory Bluhm, the city’s manager of downtown development, says the city aims to balance the desires of food truck operators with those of restaurateurs worried about the effects of food trucks on their business.

“We have to be cautious of both sides,” he says.

“We’ve suggested some options of allowing them to operate in city parks (and) in some of our industrial areas.”

But for some food truck operators, the proposed rules are restrictive enough that they may pack up and leave Kitchener altogether.

“You will see a lot of us going to Waterloo and to Hamilton, and you won’t see the trucks in Kitchener if what you see in the report is actually in the bylaw,” Andrea Kim, operator of West of Seoul, tells CTV News.

“We would just like to see food trucks treated with the same level of respect for their business as any other restaurant.”

Last summer, Kitchener allowed food trucks in front of city hall for a few hours each week on a rotating basis.

Plans call for a return of that idea over Monday lunch hours, while ine idea Bluhm mentions is an expansion of that – regular Thursday night events with food trucks and restaurants both open to the public.

Kim says she likes the idea of food trucks being permitted in parks, but questions if they’ll be busy enough during the week for any operator to have success.

She blames “a very small number of restaurants” for lobbying to keep food trucks out of the downtown core and other parts of town, including the civic district around Centre in the Square.

Merv Schwantz, co-owner of Entertaining Elements, isn’t part of that group.

He says he’d be happy to see more food trucks downtown, in the hope it’ll attract more people to the area overall.

“Our feeling is that we need to work together with the food trucks to enhance the whole culinary experience,” he says.

Anyone looking to operate a food truck in Kitchener also has to pay a license fee.

The city proposes to set that fee at slightly less than $2,000 for 2014.

In Waterloo, city officials are looking at cutting fees for food trucks from the $2,220 range to approximately $350.

The issue will come before Kitchener councillors next week.