Neil Cameron and Jenny Simmons are considering asking the board to ''revisit'' its decision.
''We think they made a mistake and they need to get around a table and talk it through properly first; have a week or two to calm down and then just talk about it, '' Mr Cameron said yesterday. The couple were given the shell of the burnt-out pie cart by the former owners, Trevor Lyons and Lynne Giles, and were refurbishing the facility.
The kerbside diner ceased trading in May last year after an electrical fault caused a fire which gutted it. At its meeting on Monday, the board voted 4-3, with one member abstaining, to turn down the application. The board heard from Central Otago police sub-area supervisor Senior Sergeant Ian Kerrisk that wilful damage and disorder in the centre of town had dropped by more than 60%, compared with the previous year, since the pie cart was closed.
A security guard who patrolled the town at night objected to the pie cart being allowed to resume business. The guard, Ainsley Armishaw, said she had noticed a ''huge decrease'' in vandalism, graffiti and rubbish in the town centre since the cart had burned.
Mr Cameron said the couple were surprised at the ''backlash'' from the community to the board decision.
''People are absolutely disgusted by the decision and maybe they'll vote accordingly, with ticks or crosses at election time,'' he said.
Between 40 and 50 people had been in touch to indicate their support,
Mr Cameron said. On the topic of the police comments, Mr Cameron said statistics could be interpreted in different ways.
''I'd like to see the statistics surrounding those issues [disorder and wilful damage] to see if they just moved to other places in the area.''
Community Board chairwoman Clair Higginson said there was nothing wrong with a food truck operating in the town.
''What the board wasn't happy with was the obvious concern of the police, as well as the material cost and cost in community unrest of the business being open late at night and it was clear it couldn't remain open late at night and if that was the case, it seemed to defeat the purpose of having a food truck,'' she said.
''However, if they wanted to operate a food truck on some other basis, and met all the requirements, obviously the board would look at it.''
Mr Cameron said the couple had compromised and offered to meet all the conditions suggested by the board and by the police, including a closing time of midnight, more lighting in the area and improved closed circuit televisions, but that still was not enough to win them over. They were looking at other sites for the pie cart, including on private land, he said.
