Chelan begins update of rules for food trucks, park vendors ahead of summer

CHELAN — Chelan city staff are beginning early work on a long-overdue update to city code governing food trucks, park vendors and other transient businesses, with the goal of having clearer rules in place before the summer season begins.

During their regularly scheduled Feb. 3 workshop, Community Development Director John Ajax told City Council that Chapter 5.20 of the municipal code — titled “Peddlers, Hawkers, and Transient Businesses” — is outdated and no longer reflects the types of mobile and semi-permanent businesses now operating in Chelan.

One of the primary concerns involves food trucks that have operated in the same location for years under what is technically a “transient” business license.

Under the current rate structure, vendors can pay $10 per day or $100 for a 120-day license. There is no required gap between those licenses, allowing operators to renew repeatedly and remain in place indefinitely without standards that apply to permanent restaurants, such as site development, utility connections or other infrastructure.

“What they do is they get a transient business license, and we actually don’t codify the length of their duration,” Ajax said. “You can just continually apply for 120-day licenses.”

Ajax noted that the city has recently worked with two newer downtown food truck courts that were treated more like permanent restaurant sites, requiring connections to utilities and full site development. Those locations, he said, have worked well.

The intent of a code update would be to create a clearer path for both truly mobile vendors and food trucks that wish to operate in a more permanent location while making an investment in their site.

The update would also address issues the city has encountered with unregulated vendors in parks, particularly around Lakeside Park, where individuals have sold toys, balloons and merchandise either inside the park or along its perimeter.

Ajax said some of those vendors have obtained licenses but ignore instructions not to operate in certain areas, making enforcement difficult without clearer code language.

The chapter update would also consider newer types of mobile businesses, including wine tour buses and other vendors that currently receive transient licenses without clear standards for insurance, operating zones or impacts to traffic and transit stops.

Councilmembers emphasized that any update should focus on addressing real problems without creating unnecessary red tape.

“I guess I’d like to make sure, A, that we’re addressing problems that need to be fixed and not just anticipating problems that we’re not seeing yet,” Councilmember Tim Hollingsworth said.

Ajax said the goal is to create reasonable standards while still allowing flexibility and opportunity for mobile vendors.

“I think we really want to get to a point where there is a pathway for mobile vendors to be able to have a permanent location,” he said, “and then providing opportunities for truly mobile food trucks to operate as well.”

Special events such as farmers markets and street closures would be exempt from the proposed rules, Ajax noted, since those operate under separate event permits.

City staff plan to develop a draft framework for council review in the coming weeks, with the hope of adopting updated rules before the peak summer season.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media