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Home My WebLink AboutCAP 2013-08-12 Item 2B - Discussion - Mobile Food Truck VendorsCity of Tukwila Jim Haggerton, Mayor INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Haggerton David Cline, City Administrator FROM: Jack Pace, Director D.C.D. DATE: August 7, 2013 SUBJECT: Mobile Food Truck Vendors. ISSUE Are mobile food truck vendors that are located on private property adequately regulated under the Tukwila Municipal Code? BACKGROUND At the March 4, 2013, Regular Council meeting Mr. Vito Fedor commented to the Council regarding the operation of mobile food trucks in the vicinity of his businesses at 12400 and 12501 East Marginal Way South in Tukwila. He stated that the mobile food trucks did not have a City business license and that Code Enforcement cannot cite the food trucks but only the private property owner where the truck is conducting business. He went on to state that the food trucks should follow the same rules as other businesses and those rules should be enforced. Also, at the April 16, 2012, Regular Council meeting Sharon Mann expressed concerns with mobile cafes. DISCUSSION Mobile food truck vendors have been in Tukwila for some time. If you consider the mobile food trucks that visit the Boeing Company facilities, this business model has been in the Tukwila area at least since the annexation of Fire District 1 in 1989. In addition to the mobile food vendors that locate on private property and obtain a business license, there are some that operate under a peddler's license such as selling ice cream by driving around in various neighborhoods. Also, there are some mobile vendors who are not selling food but provide services such as windshield repair. The city also issues temporary use permits for businesses that sell flowers or Christmas trees on private property on temporary basis. No vending is allowed on public sidewalks. 29 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 2 Where are mobile food truck vendors locating in Tukwila and who do they serve? Currently, there are 11 mobile food trucks that have a Tukwila City Business license, or have applied for such a license. These are the trucks that park on private property through lease agreements with private property owners. In some cases a property owner will allow food truck owners to trade off (rotate) the use of a parking space with other food truck vendors. Some of the trucks are at one location for only a couple of days a week, while others stay at one location every day. Listed below are some of the popular locations for food trucks: • East Marginal Way S - office workers with low variety of lunch options (Group Health, Boeing) • Tukwila International Blvd corridor— residents, workers, visitors • 14800 Interurban Ave S - America's Best Value Inn • Special events — Tukwila Community Center, culinary school Tukwila's current regulations The Tukwila Municipal Code does not define a mobile food truck or specifically implement regulations that reflect a policy statement on mobile food trucks or other mobile food vendors. No mobile food vending is allowed on public sidewalks. On the private property they are treated similar to a restaurant under the Zoning Code, as such, they are allowed in any zone that permits restaurants. Additionally, they are required to obtain a business license and as part of the business license process they are required to document that they comply with the following requirements: • Current State Business license. • Mobile food Unit Permit from Seattle /King County Health. • Current vehicle license. • Location in permitted zone. • The premise is required to meet the parking requirements for all uses. The mobile truck cannot displace required parking and is required to provide additional parking. • Available toilet facilities within 200' of unit. • Permanent Structures /Canopies /shelters not permitted unless appropriate permits (building, electrical, design review if applicable) are obtained. Benches /chairs /tables with or without umbrellas do not require a building permit and therefore are permitted. • Portable signage not permitted. 30 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 3 Code Enforcement inspects every food truck doing business in Tukwila to verify that the vendor has all the required City, State and Public Health Department licenses and permits. In addition, the food truck location is checked for illegal portable signs, any shelters that were constructed without proper permits, and compliance with parking and zoning regulations. The results of the inspection report are given to the food truck operator and a copy to the property owner. An approved inspection report is a prerequisite for continuing operation of a mobile food truck business in Tukwila. If Code Enforcement finds a mobile food truck business operating without an approved inspection report, the Code Enforcement Officer will treat the violation as an ordinary nuisance and may issue a civil infraction upon the owner of the property and the mobile food truck business owner. In any event, the mobile food truck vendor will be required to cease operation or remove the vehicle from the jurisdiction or both until such time as the vendor can meet the mobile food truck inspection requirements. How are these types of uses regulated by other cities? In 2011 Seattle eased street food regulations in an effort to increase the number of food carts and trucks on public and private properties. Portland has also embraced mobile food vending and has set standards and zones where they are allowed, established hours of operation, put restrictions on parking overnight, required them to be self- contained and required a certificate of insurance. Portland does not allow trucks in parks unless a RFP is granted through a competitive bid process. Some cities regulate them similarly to Tukwila through the business license process while some cities ban them such as SeaTac. Some cities have separation requirements from other restaurants. The cities that have pro food truck regulations do so to improve economic vitality and create festive pedestrian friendly streets. The cities that have restrictive regulations are concerned about design issues, competition to brick and mortar businesses and enforcement problems. Regardless of the regulations, the popularity of this form of transient food service business is growing in the marketplace. Recently Urban Food Link conducted a survey of the cities in our region to see how different cities regulate mobile food vendors. Urban Food Link is a national consulting firm that helps communities develop policies that create fair access to healthy food and help grow local food economy. While the detailed analysis of the survey results is pending, they have found that cities vary significantly in how they regulate food trucks. 31 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 4 What are some potential benefits of having food trucks? • Encourage street activity, including pedestrians and eyes on the street • Their presence in certain areas shows there is demand • Food trucks have gained popularity and wider acceptance in the last few years. Some cities even have food truck clusters, called "pods" (Portland) and food truck rodeo events (Renton, Seattle). • Lower barriers to entry for small businesses; mobile nature helps develop customer base. Several food trucks have gone on to open bricks and mortar restaurants (Skillet, Marination Mobile /Marination Station), and some bricks and mortar restaurants are now creating food trucks to broaden their market (Ezell's, Sizzler, Applebee's). • City of Seattle cites food trucks as being a valuable economic point -of- entry for Seattle's immigrant and refugee communities What are the problems that could be addressed with potential food truck regulations? • Fewer regulatory requirements compared with bricks and mortar restaurants perceived to be unfair by owners of bricks and mortar restaurants. • Aesthetic issues — signage, accessory structures, and food containers /wrappers can create a mess. • Electrical and fire issues RECOMMENDATION Staff would like policy direction from the Committee on whether Tukwila should change how it regulates mobile food vending and if so how. Policy Options: 1. Make no changes to the requirements or standards. 2. Draft new regulations that facilitate mobile food vending such as: a) allow food carts on public sidewalks b) allow food truck clusters where multiple food trucks are allowed to set up on private property on permanent basis c) allow mobile food vending in additional zones including those zones that do not currently allow restaurants d) allow events such as a food truck rodeo where customers can sample a wide variety of foods; and multiple food trucks are allowed to set up temporarily for the special event 32 INFORMATIONAL MEMO Page 5 3. Draft new regulations that establish additional standards other than those which currently apply such as: a) restrict zones that permit this use b) establish minimum separation requirements between different food truck vendors c) establish minimum separation requirements between the food truck vendors and the existing restaurants d) limit hours of operation e) establish design standards for the permanent facilities Additional information about the different types of food trucks and regulation in Seattle and Portland can be found at the following links: Seattle http:// www. seattle.gov /economicdevelopment /pioneer %20sguare /DPD %2 0-% 20Mobile %20food %20outreach %20Feb %202010. pdf Portland Regulations http: / /media.kjonline.com/ documents /foodtruckregulations.pdf Different types of food vendors in Portland http : / /www.foodcartsportland.com/ 33