Mayor Joe Fontana nearly lost his appetite for food trucks.

But with some significant changes to the plan to introduce the rolling restaurants to London, the city’s top politician joined colleagues in supporting it Monday at city hall.

Tuesday, council will have the final vote on allowing curbside cuisine throughout London, an idea boosters believe will add vibrancy to the city but critics fear will harm bricks-and-mortar restaurants.

“I want to protect . . . the entrepreneurs and restaurants we have in this city,” Fontana said at a special meeting Monday of council’s community and protective services committee.

“If we’re going to do it, we’ve got to be very, very careful.”

The committee chair, Coun. Matt Brown, is a mayoral candidate who will be the top challenger if Fontana seeks a second term. He agreed.

So the plan that city staff spent the past week revamping was overhauled again Monday. The changes include:

The proposed food-truck licence fee jumped dramatically to $2,620, up from $1,227.

They wouldn’t be allowed to operate within 50 metres of existing restaurants and homes, up from 25m.

None would be allowed to operate on Richmond St. that had five eligible spots.

City hall would cap it at eight trucks, not 12

Committee members Judy Bryant and Bill Armstrong both pushed to have the decision delayed for at least another year, with Armstrong calling for more input from businesses.

For Brown, his main concern was the message yet another deferral — council pressed pause in 2013, too — would send to all businesses.

“(It) sends a message to entrepreneurs looking to do business in this city that . . . two years isn’t enough time to make a decision in London,” Brown said.

With the changes, the proposal was supported 3-1, with Brown, Fontana and Bryant in favour and Armstrong opposed. (Denise Brown and Nancy Branscombe were absent.)

If council approves the plan, food trucks could be on London streets by month’s end, Brown predicted.

Politicians pledge to review the plan at year’s end to see if needs any adjustments.

But that wasn’t enough for one storefront restaurant owner who believes food trucks could spell doom because their costs would be much lower than his.

“Seventeen years of business down the drain,” said an emotional John Stobie, who owns Stobie’s pizzeria downtown.

“I’m not afraid of competition as long as it’s on a level playing field. It doesn’t seem like (this) is fair.”

Patrick.maloney@sunmedia.ca

Twitter.com/patatLFPress

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THE PROPOSAL

Proposed city regulations for food trucks include: