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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01 16 2018 Food Truck and Fee to Trust Report Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245 / www.cityofpriorlake.com 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION REPORT MEETING DATE: JANUARY 16, 2018 AGENDA #: 1A AND 1B PREPARED BY: LORI OLSON, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER FRANK BOYLES, CITY MANAGER SARAH SCHWARZHOFF, CITY ATTORNEY PRESENTED BY: LORI OLSON, FRANK BOYLES AND SARAH SCHWARZHOFF AGENDA ITEM: FOOD TRUCKS AND FEE TO TRUST DISCUSSION INTRODUCTION: A. Food Trucks The City of Prior Lake currently does not regulate food trucks. There is one active food truck vendor, Smashed Potatoes, operating in Prior Lake. Boathouse Brothers Brewing, who will be in operation this February, has requested food truck service be allowed outside their location. Other food trucks participate as part of the city’s farmers’ market, Lakefront Days and MusicFest. Staff seeks guidance from the city council on how to approach the regulation of this type of business in the city. Topics to be discussed include a brief overview of state regulations on food trucks, information on how similarly sized cities regulate food trucks, and the specific items for regulation related to the operation of food trucks in Prior Lake. The staff is seeking city council direction on at least the following: 1. Should staff proceed to prepare a food truck ordinance with licensure or continue as is without regulation? 2. Should food trucks be restricted to private property only? If so, are there preferred residential zoning districts? 3. Should the food truck ordinance allow food trucks on public streets: • If so, should the number and location trucks on public streets be limited? • If so, should affected neighboring businesses sign off be required? • If so, should they should be restricted to certain zoning districts? 4. Should the days and times for food truck be restricted? 5. How should the permit, if we decide to require one, be charged – permit per day or have an annual permit? 2 6. Community events address food trucks within that permit. Should that approach continue for simplicity sake? 7. Are there other issues that the ordinance should address? B. Fee to Trust Discussion Last fall the three new members of the city council, as part of their orientation, received a presentation from the city attorney on the topic of fee to trust applications. Since then no applications have been received until this last December. At that time two were received. One application addresses property which will become part of the joint water treatment plant presently under construction. The second application is for four parcels, one of which is within the city of Prior Lake and the other three are in Shakopee. The following are attached for city council information as part of January 16, 2018 agenda item 9B: applications for both requests; the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 30-day Notice for each; the Scott County Response to each request and draft responses from the City of Prior Lake for each request. City Attorney Sarah Schwarzhoff will present a PowerPoint to the city council on this topic intended to establish a baseline understanding of this process and the options available to the city council. To remain within the BIA action timeline the city council would have to take action tonight or conduct a special meeting prior to February 12, 2018. City of Prior Lake City Council Work Session January 16, 2018 Food Truck Regulation Comparisons Do you require a permit for your food-stand vendors? How much do you charge? Do you differentiate fees based on the food-stand vendor type? How do you regulate food trucks that operate in conjunction with a farmer’s market? Do you allow food trucks to operate on a city street, a city parking spot or on city sidewalks? How do you handle violations? What is the penalty? Does your city staff do routine inspections? Or is it only complaint based? If complaint based, who responds? Is there anything else we should know? Anything you learned from the experience you’d like to share with us? EAGAN If the mobile food vendor is on private property with the property owner’s permission, no permit is required. If the vendor is within a park, they have to be there as part of a larger event or rental. If that’s the case, we charge $30 for resident and $37 for non- resident. We do not differentiate between types of vendors. Generally, commercial activities are not allowed in City parks unless they are part of a larger event or rental. Food trucks wishing to participate in our farmer’s market are required to receive a permit to be a market vendor. No, unless the vehicle is traveling down the road, stops to make an immediate sale, then continues on (i.e. an ice cream truck). When we find a vendor somewhere it’s not allowed, we notify them of our regulations. We haven’t had a case that’s needed any further enforcement. Since the requirements are in City Code, we could cite them for an ordinance violation (misdemeanor). We are complaint based. If Code Enforcement staff are available, they respond. If it’s after hours, the Police Department would respond. Not right now. EDEN PRAIRIE No permit required. Eden Prairie does not have any Farmer’s Markets. No. Code states in 5.46 Subd 3. F.: “Food stands and special event food stands shall not operate on public streets or public right-of-ways. Food stands and special event food stands may operate in City parks only with written approval from the City Parks and Recreation Director.” Ordinance is enforced on a complaint basis only. Violations and Penalties are listed in Subd 4 of the ordinance. No routine inspections. Did not know who would respond, but most likely a patrol officer, sergeant, or fire inspector. Eden Prairie created the Food Truck ordinance in response to heavy Brewery/Taproom interest. Those businesses have been much slower in coming to reality than was expected. Most of the food truck activity in Eden Prairie is from trucks being drawn to or hired by individual companies/office buildings for lunch or special events (graduation parties, backyard weddings, etc). Food Trucks are not allowed in commercial areas, so Eden Prairie doesn’t have a place that is appealing City of Prior Lake City Council Work Session January 16, 2018 for a food truck to set up shop day after day like you see in Mpls/St. Paul. EDINA Yes, two kinds of permits. ‘Special event food stand’ – $120 permit ‘knock down stand’ 3 events total 10 days ‘Mobile food unit’ – $200 permit, good for year, 21 days in one location max (need to move around) Planning/zoning regulations code section that has outdoor sales prohibited (code 36- 1262), unless prior approval from planning department. Would allow if accessory to main use (hockey tournament, food truck as accessory so allowed) Farmers market is run by the city. Market manager, city employee, gets all the applications from the vendors and handle the contacting for ones needing licensing. Food truck could pay both a stall fee AND a food permit. Farmers market exceptions (jams, pickle bill) – based on state code – to determine who is licensable and who are not Yes only in conjunction with an event (5K, art fair) Private only for staff, wouldn’t worry about it. But when open to general public city’s gets involved. Violation of code, write ticket and can citation but rarely used. Complaint based. Health inspectors. If licensed already seen truck and operation and menu. Food truck used only in conjunction with events, not independent vendors. Tap rooms – specifically allow in conjunction with a tap room, zoning only in industrial districts so tap rooms wouldn’t be in a commercial area. Know state Ag Dept facilities because they could have exemptions under state code. LAKEVILLE Yes, permit required to operate in downtown district. $50.00 per day. No annual permit at this time. Only allowed Friday and Saturday night and federal holidays. If food truck part of a special event or market, don’t require event/market sponsor to get any food truck permits. Yes, but only in downtown district. Do not allow on downtown’s main thoroughfare but on side streets. Only one spot per property allowed and need written permission from adjacent property owner. Compliant based. Start with education before moving to enforcement. No routine inspections. But fire department does inspect once before food truck can begin operations. No amplified sound or flashing lights allowed. Require insurance, some vendors thought $2 million insurance requirement too much. Opted to do a daily $50.00 permit before doing an annual permit to see how things go. SHAKOPEE We have two different licenses. One is a registration to work in our city up to 10 days from March 15 to November 15 each calendar year with no fees. We do require that they fill out a registration from and provide Farmers markets are licensed through our planning and development department. Food trucks have to register or hold a license before working at the farmers market. It is the same process for all mobile food trucks. No, we do not allow food trucks on city street, sidewalks or parking spots. Only in a business parking lot or someone’s personal driveway for a catering party. The police investigate any complaint and give warnings or citation if necessary. The penalty is listed in our city code which I provided. Our Fire Marshal and Police periodically check on the mobile food units to make sure they are complying. I would suggest that you have a regular inspection of mobile food trucks. We have had trouble with the workers dumping their grey water in our city sewer. Take photos when violations are seen. City of Prior Lake City Council Work Session January 16, 2018 a copy of their MN Department of Health license. The annual license is for 10 days or more in the city from April 1 to October 1 each calendar year. The fee is $50. This licensee will need to move their truck every 21 days to a new location. They need to fill out an application and provide a copy of their MN Department of Health license. They also need to provide us with a signed agreement with the business owner who is allowing them to park their food truck in their parking lot.