Whitefish examines change in food truck regulations

Whitefish is considering loosening up its regulations regarding food vendor permits.

The city’s Planning Department is suggesting changes that would make the process of obtaining a permit more streamlined and also ease restrictions on the location of where such vendors can operate. City Council will discuss the changes during a work session on Tuesday.

City Council meets at 7:10 p.m. at City Hall, 418 E. Second St. The meeting is on Tuesday because of the Labor Day holiday on Monday. The work session begins at 6 p.m. prior to the regular meeting.

The administration of the current rules is fairly time-consuming for city staff, Planning Director Dave Taylor notes. In addition, the city has received a request for a private food vendor court on a vacant lot downtown that current rules would prohibit.

“Food vendors provide a convenient grab-and-go option for the public and give small businesses a stepping-stone to brick and mortar or an option to supplement income,” Taylor wrote in a memo to Council.

Current food vendor regulations were put in place in 2010 and amended in 2014 to allow food vendors to operate on private property in commercial zones with some limitations. Regulations require a public notice of applications for permits, limited hours of operation, no outside seating and a limit of five total food vendors per zoning district and 10 total in the city.

Whitefish since 2014 has averaged three to four vendor permits per year. Six have been issued so far this year, according to the city.

“Of all the permits issued or renewed since its inception, staff has only received a couple of comments despite rigorous neighborhood notification for each vendor,” Taylor said.

Missoula and Bozeman allow mobile vending on sidewalks, public parks and streets downtown, as well as in private parking lots in commercial zones with minimal limitations. Kalispell allows them in all zones where restaurants are allowed on private property without limitation except that signage can’t be in the right of way.

The Planning Department is suggesting eliminating the cap on the number of vendor permits, removing the requirement for public noticing, removing the limit on hours of operation and eliminating the ban on outdoor seating. Staff also suggests creating an administrative conditional use permit process for when there is more than one vendor per lot.

ALSO ON the work session agenda, Council will discuss improvements to the Baker Avenue viaduct.

The viaduct for years now has been identified by the city as a critical link between the north side of Whitefish and the downtown area to the south. The city has been working with the Montana Department of Transportation to make changes to the viaduct to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety on the viaduct and for aesthetics.

Council is set to vote on two items during the regular meeting.

An ordinance repealing a portion of city code that requires a majority vote of the “members elected” of Council for an ordinance to be passed or repealed. The rule makes it so that when only four Councilors attend a meeting, which makes a quorum, all four must vote in favor of a proposed ordinance for it to pass.

City Attorney Angela Jacobs says the rule has created confusion about how the process is to be followed when an ordinance fails due to a lack of a unanimous vote. Thus city staff is recommending that it be repealed.

Council will vote on whether or not to repeal stage 2 fire restrictions for the city to stay aligned with surrounding jurisdictions including the county.

Features Editor Heidi Desch may be reached at 758-4421 or hdesch@dailyinterlake.com.