Prior to the creation of their mobile vendor regulations, the City of Cold Lake had very little say on food trucks and other transportable retailers.
The city has chipped away at the policy and come-up with some ruling on buffer zones, special events, and permit fees.
According to CAO Kevin Nagoya, they determined the best door-to-door buffer zone was 50-metres.
What this means, he said, is a mobile merchant can’t be within 50-metres of a business that offers similar products and services.
Council also determined the cost of the categories and cost of the permit. An annual license for a mobile food vendor will come-in at $1,000, while non-food retailers will pay $500.
Nagoya explained why there is such a jump in price when someone is running a food truck.
Non-food merchants can be very small, which means less product on-hand.
“Most of the mobile food vendors I have seen have much higher volume. It was more of a perceived yes that there is a difference in volume there.”
Vendor operators also have the option of purchasing a three-day special event permit, at a cost of $150. This applies to both food and non-food merchants.
Nagoya used the Cold Lake Air Show as a prime example, where mobile businesses come in for a brief period.
“You’re going to get people coming in from beyond the region to do things like that, but they’re not going to be here for the rest of the year,” he explained. “Someone coming from far away may just want to pick-up a two or three-day license. We wanted to separate that within the policy.”
Coun. Kirk Soroka recommended the addition of a fourth class for temporary permits.
The cost hasn’t been determined yet, but Soroka felt it was important to acknowledge the mobile businesses that occasionally come into the city for business.
“My only concern would be the folks that come here for seven days of the year,” Soroka expressed.
Not-for-profit organizations weren’t included in their considerations. The current policy requires groups hosting fundraisers where they’re charging a fee for their goods, to get a permit.
“The way we have done it… anyone who is doing a vendor-type situation would have to pay,” Nagoya noted.
However, council did agree they would consider, on a case-by-case basis, to waive the fee.
The city has also restricted mobile vendors access to residential areas, however, they have had a change of heart when it comes to ice cream trucks.
“We should make sure ice cream vendors can continue to go up and down the streets, because I would hate to see that to end,” expressed Coun. Bob Buckle.
Council also turned to the advice of the city’s Safety Codes Contractor and the Inspections Group, which advised the city food trucks require inspections under the building, fire, electrical, plumbing, and gas disciplines.
According to their feedback, in most cases in the City of Edmonton, 80 per cent of their mobile food vendors fail their initial inspection.
Taking this into consideration, Cold Lake has required all new food trucks pass the Safety Codes Inspection prior to issuance of a permit or business license, both items are necessary for them to operate within Cold Lake.
Trucks must also be inspected annually before they can be renewed, are required to dispose of grease and garbage in a proper manner, and to utilize mats when parked and in-service.
If a vendor were found to be in breach of the city’s policy, their business license would ultimately be revoked.
Nagoya said, “If they don’t comply, they will loose their food permit, which is connected to their business license, which means they’re going to be getting their business license revoked. They can only appeal through council. They can be charged under the business bylaw if they aren’t going to listen or are going to continue to operate.”
Before the policy is passed, council will bring it up again for discussion at a future council meeting.
