SHELBURNE — The Planning Board announced Tuesday that a controversial bylaw regulating food trucks will be withdrawn from Annual Town Meeting consideration this spring as town counsel advised it needs to be “thought through more carefully.”

In addition to a series of proposed bylaws regulating short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and battery energy storage systems in town, the withdrawn food truck bylaw would have required that food trucks receive a permit from the Board of Health and Selectboard, and operations would be limited to seven continuous days under a short-term permit, which could only be issued once a month, or one to three days that are “periodic but not continuous” under an annual permit.

In an interview Wednesday, Planning Board member T. Wilson “Will” Flanders said the bylaw was initially drafted as a precautionary measure in preparation for a tourism boom in Shelburne Falls. It was modeled after Amherst’s food truck regulations, but after hearing from the public, he said he is unsure whether the bylaw is necessary at all.

“I’m not sure if it’s worth bothering anymore after thinking it through more carefully,” Flanders said. “If you look at the Amherst bylaw for food trucks, they had a major problem there. We were looking at, ‘Do we actually have a problem or not?’ These days I’m not so sure that we do have a problem. I’m changing my opinion about whether it’s worth bothering at all.”

The Planning Board added that part of the desire to regulate food trucks came from not only wanting to preserve the look of the village, but also to ensure businesses are committed to the town. Food trucks that operate in town for just a few days do not have to pay taxes while brick-and-mortar restaurants do.

The proposal raised concerns in January from Shelburne Falls residents and patrons of Middle Eastern Flavors, a popular food truck often referred to as Asma’s Kitchen that operates four days a week on Bridge Street. Under the proposed language of the bylaw, the business could apply for an annual license and continue operating, however, its hours would be reduced. The proposed bylaw states trucks could be open for up to three days at a time but does not state specifically how much of a gap there must be between open days to not be considered continuous.

Zoning Board of Appeals member John Taylor, in a January meeting, said the idea for the bylaw first arose a few years ago, after a resident reached out to Town Hall concerned that there were food trucks operating illegally. After research proved the town had no mention of food trucks in its zoning bylaws, the Planning Board began developing regulations for them.

“We, generally, as a Planning Board, tend to try to look at things ahead of time and put things in place so that if we have issues in the future, we’re not scrambling,” Flanders said. “This is one of those.”

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.