The Pit, at Pantano Road and 22nd Street, features not just the trucks and tables on the gas station site, but also picnic tables and games close to the Loop bike path.

 Tim Steller / Arizona Daily Star

The idea struck me as brilliant the minute we rolled up.

On a bike ride in November, some friends and I arrived at East 22nd Street and South Pantano Road. It was midday, and there they were, just off the Loop next to the Pantano Wash: a group of food trucks arrayed on the grounds of a former gas station.

Beer, soda and snacks were for sale inside the small store, and the few trucks open at that early hour served Jamaican, Mexican and Mediterranean food. I chose the Jamaican and sat outside at the tables, placed under the gas station canopy where people once filled their tanks.

This was my introduction to the concept of a “food-truck park,” a phenomenon popping up around the country. I’d never contemplated the possibility.

Unfortunately, neither do Tucson’s city codes.

Amber Donahue and Chris Frisch opened the place, known as The Pit, on March 25. It features not just the trucks and tables on the gas station site, but also picnic tables and games on adjacent land closer to the Loop.

Since August, though, they have been struggling to keep it open. That’s when city inspectors found problems that included the electrical setup, bathroom access and parking.

For months, they have been trying to get good with the city, filing a site plan and other documents, fixing this and that.

Whatever they did, though, the fundamental problem remained: City code prevents “peddlers,” which is what food-trucks are considered, from locating within 100 feet of each other.

At the Pit, there might be a half dozen peddlers within 100 feet. And that’s a good thing. That’s what made the place become popular right away — an unusual destination on the city’s southeast side.

“The real issue is, within the city limits of Tucson, there is no way to have a food-truck park,” Donahue told me. “Ultimately, I don’t believe the city doesn’t want to have something like this. There’s just no way to do it without changing that code.”

The Pit has been operating for months in a tenuous state, and the city rejected its site plan in December, deciding that it needs a “development plan,” which would be potentially cost-prohibitive. But the show went on.

On Jan. 8, a city inspector showed up with police officers in tow. It appears, according to city records, they were responding to a complaint of live music, alcohol drinking and dancing on site. They found nothing much.

“There was no music and had a stereo playing while on site,” the report from that date says. “Had a gentleman playing a guitar with an amp and had no dancing while on site. They do have kids from high schools that come at times and perform when asked. They have a store on site, and they do sell alcohol for to-go and not drink on the property.”

Still, The Pit was ordered to close.

The Pit is currently "operating on a temporary-use permit," City Council member Paul Cunningham said. "But we just can’t do that forever."

All this happened in the code enforcement division while other parts of the city apparatus were working to find a way to keep The Pit operating. Council member Paul Cunningham, whose ward the business is in, and the office of economic development were looking at city codes to see if changes could be made.

“The code enforcement department made a decision to suspend The Pit’s operation,” Cunningham said by text. “They did not contact me about the decision, which was disappointing, but it happens from time to time.”

When the hammer came down, the protests came quickly. The online publication Tucson Foodie and KGUN 9 ran stories about it. A petition started by Donahue gathered more than 3,000 signatures.

At 4:45 p.m. on the Friday before a three-day weekend, deputy city manager Tim Thomure, public information officer Andy Squire and Cunningham went to The Pit and met with Frisch and Donahue.

They hammered out a deal: The Pit can stay open for 45 more days, as long as it meets certain conditions. In the meantime, city officials will look at adjusting the code to allow for food-truck parks.

The conditions include:

No more than seven food trucks at the site.

A bathroom open to the public.

All trucks must show their health and fire inspections are up-to-date.

“They’re going to be operating on a temporary-use permit,” Cunningham said by phone Tuesday. “But we just can’t do that forever. We can’t keep approving special event permits.”

That means both sides need to show some agility. The city needs to find a way to quickly adopt new code allowing peddlers to group themselves together like this.

This shouldn’t be impossible: Food-truck yards exist in cities around the country, and another one, called Comida Park, is going up next to Tanque Verde Swap Meet, in the jurisdiction of Pima County.

“We don’t want to be nitpicky, but at the same time we want to be safe,” Cunningham said.

On the other side, Donahue, Frisch and the owners of the food trucks need to dig deep to adapt to the conditions the city imposes. Get the right electrical hook-ups and bathroom facilities, organize the parking.

This shouldn’t be impossible. Tucson should be a city that finds a way to help business people repurpose an abandoned property creatively, especially when they are bringing people together in a positive atmosphere like this.

Tucson Landmarks: With origins dating back to 1978, the Chuck Huckelberry Loop provides miles of paved walkways, art, views of plants and wildlife and a way to get around town. Video by Andrea Morabito for the Arizona Daily Star.

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Tim Steller is an opinion columnist. A 25-year veteran of reporting and editing, he digs into issues and stories that matter in the Tucson area, reports the results and tells you his conclusions. Contact him at tsteller@tucson.com or 520-807-7789. On Twitter: @senyorreporter