(A) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
EDIBLE GOODS. Includes, but is not limited to:
(a) Prepackaged food including, but not limited to, candy, beverages and ice cream;
(b) Prepared food including, but not limited to, hot dogs, desserts and pizza; and
(c) On-site prepared food including, but not limited to, shaved ice, sandwiches and tacos.
MOBILE FOOD VENDORS. Any business which sells edible goods from a non-stationary location within the city. The terms shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) CONCESSION TRAILERS. A vending unit which is pulled by a motorized unit and has no power to move on its own; and
(b) MOBILE FOOD TRUCKS. A self-contained motorized unit selling items defined as edible goods.
NON-REFRIGERATED. Edible goods that are not required to be kept at a temperature below 41°F according to the Federal Food and Drug Administration and the state’s Food Establishment Rules.
(B) Permit and application.
(1) Permit. Every mobile food vendor shall have a permit issued by the city to conduct business in the city.
(2) Application. Every mobile food vendor shall apply for a permit on a form promulgated by the city. Each vending unit requires a separate permit.
(3) Permit form. A complete application shall require the following information from the applicant to be considered:
(a) Name of applicant;
(b) Legal name of business or entity;
(c) State of incorporation or filing of a partnership or articles of association;
(d) If applicable, copy of charter or articles of incorporation and current listing of the directors, partners or principles;
(e) Sales tax number with a copy of sales tax permit;
(f) Signed permission form or provide notarize affidavit from the private property owner granting permission for unit placement;
(g) Name, phone number and driver’s license number of business owner;
(h) Proposed itinerary with route, vending locations and times;
(i) Contact name and phone number for mobile food vending unit while in route;
(j) Description of product being sold;
(k) Vehicle identification number and description of mobile food vending unit; and
(l) Signed affidavit with photo identification that each individual applicant:
1. Has no unpaid civil judgments against him or her in any state of U.S. possession which arise from a business activity which would have been covered by this section if in effect at the time in the jurisdiction where such judgments are of record; and
2. A statement of all convictions in any state, the United States or U.S. possession within the last ten years.
(4) Permit fee.
(a) The application fee for a mobile food vendor permit shall be $150. Each mobile food vendor unit shall be permitted separately.
(b) Mobile food vendor permits shall be valid for one year from the date of permit issuance. Upon renewal, the applicant shall pay the renewal $100 fee, and update any changes in the permitting documentation upon permit renewal. The applicant must submit the application and the renewal fee within 30 days before expiration of the permit or must reapply as a new applicant.
(5) Permit denial. A permit may be denied where:
(a) An applicant is found to have an unpaid civil judgment(s) against him or her, which relates to the duties and responsibilities of the permitted occupation, which shall be determined by the nature and amount of the judgment, the relationship of the judgment to the purpose of the permit and the extent that the permit would allow someone to engage in further activity that would lead to unsatisfied civil judgments;
(b) An applicant has been convicted of a crime which directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the licensed occupation which shall be determined by the nature and seriousness of the crime, the relationship of the crime to the purpose of the permit and the extent that the permit would allow someone to engage in further criminal activity;
(c) The required information is incomplete or incorrect or shows that a person is not otherwise entitled to conduct business as a mobile food vendor; or
(d) The opportunity to issue a permit has been denied due to previous violations as described in this section.
(6) Display of permit. Every permit, including those from the city, shall be displayed at all times in a conspicuous place where it can be read by the general public on the mobile food vendor’s truck or concession trailer.
(7) Permit revocation or suspension.
(a) A permit may be revoked upon conviction of any offense committed by an individual operating as a mobile food vendor in the city while engaged in the permitted business, or if a final conviction occurs or is found to have existed at the time of application, or if civil judgments, as set forth above, are placed or found of record against an applicant. A permit may be suspended in the event of pending charges of a crime, as set forth above, upon a magistrate’s determination of probable cause in connection with such charges.
(b) A permit may be revoked for non-conformity to the application location specifications or requirements as well as to non-conformity to an approved location plan or diagram.
(c) Any employee working for an applicant permitted as an employer under this section above may be denied the right to solicit under such permit, or such rights may be suspended or terminated, under the same circumstances and procedures which apply to the holder of the permit. Revocation or suspension of an employer’s permit terminates all employee permits.
(d) A permit may be suspended or revoked for not complying with the requirements of this section or any other ordinances or laws.
(8) Appeal of permit revocation, suspension or denial.
(a) The notice of revocation, suspension or denial of a permit shall include the procedure for appealing the suspension, revocation or denial.
(b) If a city official revokes, suspends or denies a mobile food vendor permit, the holder or applicant of the permit which has been revoked, suspended or denied, shall have the right of appeal to the City Manager or designee by submitting an appeal in writing to the Health Director within ten business days of the revocation, suspension or denial.
(c) Pending action on the appeal, a permit which has been revoked or suspended shall be considered revoked or suspended.
(d) If a written appeal is not submitted within the ten business days of revocation, suspension or denial, of if the appeal is denied, the permit shall hence be considered revoked, suspended or denied.
(9) Reapplication after revocation, suspension or denial of permit. If a mobile food vendor or applicant is not in compliance with this section or any other ordinance, law or the approved vendor application, the following action will be taken:
(a) First violation: a warning may be issued, or the permit may be revoked or suspended and the vendor may become ineligible for a new or reissued permit for 90 consecutive days;
(b) Second violation: permit will be revoked and the vendor may become ineligible for a new or reissued permit for 90 consecutive days;
(c) Third violation: permit will be revoked and the vendor will become ineligible for new or reissued permit for one year; and
(d) If an applicant’s permit has been denied and the appeal is denied, the applicant may not reapply for 90 consecutive days.
(C) Zoning and location restrictions.
(1) Distance regulations.
(a) No mobile food vendor shall conduct business within any Single-Family Residential or Agricultural Zoning District unless otherwise approved in writing by the City Manager.
(b) A mobile food vendor may not be located within 100 feet of the primary entrance of an open and operating fixed-location food service establishment.
(2) Stationary locations. A mobile food vendor shall not conduct sales at a stationary location:
(a) In congested areas where the operation impedes vehicular or pedestrian traffic;
(b) Between the hours of 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.;
(c) For a duration exceeding eight continuous hours per location per day; and
(d) For a duration exceeding 30 minutes on any public street.
(3) Location regulations.
(a) No mobile food vendor shall be located on any private property without written permission to do so and must comply if asked to leave by the property owner or city official. A notarized copy of the written permission to operate in a specific location signed by the private property owner shall be kept within the mobile vending unit at all times.
(b) No person shall distribute, deposit, place, throw, scatter or cast any commercial handbill.
(c) No person shall distribute, deposit, place, throw, scatter or cast any commercial handbill upon any premises if requested by the property owner or city not to do so or if there is placed near or at the entrance thereof a sign bearing the words “no advertisement”.
(d) No person shall sell or offer for sale any item upon any premises if requested by the property owner or city official not to do so, or if there is placed at or near the entrance thereof a sign bearing the words “no peddlers or vendors”, “no trespassing” or “no solicitors”.
(D) Mobile food vendor requirements. The following regulations shall apply to mobile food vendors within any zoning district.
(1) Each unit shall be equipped with a portable trash receptacle and shall be responsible for proper disposal of solid waste and waste water in the sanitation facility legally accessed by the food service establishment. All disturbed areas must be cleaned following each stop to a minimum 20 feet of the sales location.
(2) Mobile food vendor may not have a drive-through.
(3) No sales are allowed within public park facilities while park concession units are operating.
(4) Continuous music or repetitive sounds shall not project from the mobile unit.
(5) A five-foot clear space can be maintained around the mobile food vending unit.
(6) The mobile unit will be subject to inspections upon permit application through the Code Enforcement and Health Department and the Fire Marshal and may be subject to random inspection and upon reissuance of the permit.
(7) A “no smoking” sign must be posted next to the order window or area.
(8) A tagged fire extinguisher shall be kept accessible as directed by the city’s Fire Marshal or designee.
(9) An extinguishing vent hood, Type 1 or other if approved by the city’s Fire Marshal, shall be required when the cooking process produces grease laden particles within the mobile unit. Said hood shall require testing in the presence of a City Fire Marshal designee.
(10) Mobile units must completely retain their mobility at all times.
(11) A mobile food unit does not mean a stand or a booth.
(12) A roadside food vendor is classified as a mobile food unit.
(E) Offenses and regulations.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any individual as the agent or employee of another regulated under this section to sell edible goods in the city unless its principal or employer has received a permit under this section.
(2) A permit issued under this section is not transferable.
(3) It shall be unlawful for an individual to sell edible goods while displaying a valid permit issued by the city in the name of another individual, organization or entity.
(4) It shall be unlawful for any individual directly or through an agent or employee to sell goods within the corporate limits of the city after the expiration of the permit issued by the city under this section.
(5) It shall be unlawful for an individual directly or through an agent or employee to misrepresent on the permit affidavit any acts that are regulated under this section.
(6) It shall be unlawful for any individual directly or through his or her agents or employees to represent that the issuance of a permit by the city constitutes the city’s endorsement or approval of the product for sale.
(7) It shall be unlawful to operate a mobile food vendor operation that is not in compliance with the state’s Food Establishment Rules as amended from time to time.
(F) Exemptions. Individuals selling only non-refrigerated farm products in an unrefined state shall be considered as a mobile food vendor, as defined by this section, but shall be exempt from the requirements of this section.
(Ord. 2016-06, passed 8-16-2016; Ord. 2017-09, passed 6-14-2017) Penalty, see § 114.99