The city of Portland is suing the Oregon Liquor Control Commission in Multnomah County Circuit Court

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The OLCC granted its first permanent liquor license to a food cart in March when it gave the go-ahead to Cartlandia -- a food cart pod in Southeast Portland. Cartlandia now serves beer and wine from one cart and allows people to drink it in a designated area.

The OLCC was acting on legal advice by the Oregon Department of Justice that the OLCC had to treat food carts the same as brick-and-mortar restaurants.

But that angered Mayor Sam Adams and Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who both complained that the OLCC lacked clear, very specific rules around food carts and alcohol to ensure public safety. They said food carts aren't like restaurants.

In court papers, the city went further:

"The city is adversely affected and aggrieved by the agency order because permitting the sale of liquor in the form of alcoholic beverages from, by or near food carts without adequate rules to guide the licensing process and/or in contravention of or without satisfaction of applicable statutory provisions and administrative rules is not in the public interest of the citizens of the city of Portland," the lawsuit reads. "Such sales may result in increased crime, traffic accidents, fatalities, public nuisances or other harms to the public safety."

Roger Goldingay, co-owner of Cartlandia, says the food-cart pod has been serving beer and wine for a few weeks now. "We haven't had any problems," he said. "It's been pretty mellow. That' all I can say."

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Reading

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