HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-O-09 - Mobile Food VendorsORDINANCE NO. 2017-0-09
AN ORDINANCE CREATING SECTION 92.09 OF CHAPTER 92: FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS THAT
REGULATES MOBILE FOOD VENDORS
ARTICLE 92.09 - MOBILE FOOD VENDORSU
Sec 1- Definitions.
All food vendors will comply Texas Food Establishment Rules (TFER) established by the Texas
Department of State Health Services as well as the City of Stephenville Ordinance. Vendors shall not
prepare food at an offsite location. You may view the complete TFER rules at
www.dshs.state.tx.us/foodestabisihments.
(a) City shall mean City of Stephenville.
(b) Edible goods shall include, but are not limited to:
(1) Prepackaged food including, but not limited to, candy, beverages, and ice cream.
(2) On -site prepared food, which is prepared in the mobile food unit.
(c) Food service establishment shall mean businesses that sell edible goods and have been inspected
and approved by the City of Stephenville, including commercial kitchens and commissaries, and shall
specifically exclude accessory or self -serve retail food sales.
(d) Mobile shall mean the state of being in active, but not necessarily continuous, movement.
(e) Mobile food vendors shall mean any business, which sells edible goods from a non -permanent (i.e.
mobile) location within the City of Stephenville. The term shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) Mobile food trucks: A self-contained motorized unit selling items defined as edible goods.
(2) Concession trailers: A vending unit, which is pulled by a motorized unit and has no power to move
on its own.
(3) Concession carts: Mobile vending units that must be moved by non -motorized means.
(f) Non -refrigerated shall mean edible goods that are not required to be kept at a temperature below 41
degrees Fahrenheit according to the federal Food and Drug Administration and the Texas Food
Establishment Rules.
(g) Sell shall mean the act of exchanging a good for payment or in return for a donation.
(h) Stationary location shall mean the position of the mobile food vendor when addressing the public for
the purpose of sales and not in motion.
Sec.2. - Permit and application.
(a) Permit application. No person shall act as a mobile food vendor in the city without a permit issued by
the city. 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, concession cart,
or concession trailer. A person shall complete an application for a permit to the city on forms furnished
by the city and shall provide the following information:
(1) Name, legal name of business or entity, mailing address, and telephone number of the applicant.
(2) Name, mailing address, phone number, and photocopy of the applicant's state or federal issued
photo identification card.
Mobile Food Vendors
Page 1 of 5
(3) The trade name under which the applicant conducts business.
(3) Type of business organization or corporation as defined by state law;
(4) Sales tax number with a copy of sales tax permit;
(5) Signed permission from all private property owners where the mobile food vending unit will be
stationed; property owner agrees to allow use of their facilities if set-up is longer than 2 hours.
(6) Vehicle and/or unit make, model, and license plate number
(7) Proof of motor vehicle insurance.
(8) Description of product being sold;
(9) Action plan to dispose of liquid waste and material
(10) Records/receipts of disposal of waste and materials (If renewal)
(11) Copy of the contracted health inspector report issued to the mobile food vendor.
(b) Fees. All fees required under this section will be set by city council ordinance.
(c) Permit decisions. The city will evaluate the data furnished by the applicant and may require additional
information. Within 5 business days of receipt of a completed permit application, the city will determine
whether or not to issue a mobile food vendor permit. The city may deny an application for a permit for
any of the following grounds:
(1) Failing to provide all of the information required by the city;
(2) The applicant's past record of ordinance violations,
(3) Safety record of the applicant or any driver, based on such things as civil and criminal lawsuits
and violations of environmental laws and ordinances;
(4) Providing false, misleading or inaccurate information to the city.
(d) Permit.
(1) Permits shall be issued for a time period, not to exceed one year or may be stated to expire on a
specific date.
(2) Permits are required to be renewed prior to the expiration date.
(3) A new permit application is required to be submitted within 15 days of the following, whereupon
the previous permit will be voided and the previous permit canceled:
When ownership of the operating entity is changed; or
ii. The City determines that operations or management methods are no longer adequately
described by the existing permit application.
(4) Permits are not transferrable.
(a) Suspension or revocation of permit. A permit maybe revoked by the city for any violation of this section.
(f) Appeals. A mobile food vendor has the right to appeal a determination made by the Planning and
Building Director to the City Administrator by submitting a written appeal to the City Administrator's
office, with a copy to the Director of Planning and Building Director, not more than five days after
receiving notice of the suspension or denial of permit. The city Administrator or his or her designee will
hear the appeal and issue a written finding not more than 20 days after the notice was delivered to the
City Administrator. The City Administrator's determination is final.
Sec.3. - Zoning and location restrictions.
(a) Distance regulations.
Mobile Food Vendors
Page 2 of 5
(1) No mobile food vendor, except mobile vendors pre -approved for a solicitation permit shall
conduct business within any single-family, multi -family or agricultural zoning district, but may be
located in such districts when:
a. Serving and within 100 feet to a (property) with an active building permit;
b. Operating on a lot with a retail commercial business, including, but not limited to:
1. Grocery stores,
2. Convenience stores,
3. Gas stations
4. Any other retail commercial business as determined by the City Administrator or his
designee; or
5. Located within a city park or recreation area, so long as the vendor obtains permission
from the Director of Community Services or his or her designee.
(2) A mobile food vendor may not be located within 100 feet of the property line of an open and
operating fixed -location food service establishment. This buffer may be reduced upon receiving
written permission from said establishments.
(b) Stationary restrictions. A mobile food vendor shall not remain on premises and/or conduct sales at a
stationary location:
(1) In congested areas where the operation impedes vehicular or pedestrian traffic or where it
impedes access to the entrance of any adjacent building or driveway.
(2) In public parking spaces, Right of Way and/or easements owned by the City of Stephenville
without written approval by the Director of Planning and Building Services Director or his or her
designee.
(3) In a designated bike lane.
(4) Within the boundaries of City sponsored event unless approved by permit with the Director of
Community Services.
(5) Within 500 feet of any special events entrance.
(c) Location regulations.
(1) No mobile food vendor shall locate 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 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.
(2) No person shall distribute, deposit, place, throw, scatter or cast any commercial handbill in or
upon any motor vehicle without permission of the owner(s) of said property(s) and/ or if there is a
placard near or at the entrance thereof a sign bearing the words "no advertisement".
Sec.4. - Mobile food vendor requirements.
(a) Each unit shall be equipped with a trash receptacle with lid to prevent windblown litter and shall be
disposed of in accordance with the city's solid waste ordinance. All solid waste and recyclables shall
be bagged. Receptacles shall not be overfilled to prevent complete lid closure. All disturbed areas
must be cleaned following each stop at a minimum of 20 feet of the sales location.
(b) If liquid waste results from food processing of a mobile food vendor's truck, concession cart, or
concession trailer, the waste shall be contained in a permanently installed retention tank located on
the vending unit.
Mobile Food Vendors
Page 3 of 5
(c) Liquid waste, solid waste, and/or recyclables shall be removed from a mobile food vendor's truck,
concession cart, or concession trailer at a disposal site approved by the city or by a city permitted
waste transporter. Removal of waste shall be in a manner that a public health hazard or nuisance is
not created. Records of removal and disposal shall be provided to staff upon request.
(d) Liquid waste from a mobile food vendor shall be characterized as food service waste and shall meet
the waste removal, manifesting, disposal, and treatment requirements of the city's franchise
agreement prior to discharge into the city's publically owned treatment works.
(e) Waste generated from washing or maintenance of mobile vending unit shall be done in a manner to
prevent release on public or private property.
(f) The mobile food vendor will be subject to inspection by the city upon permit application and be subject
to random inspections mandated by the Texas Food Establishment Rule and upon reissuance of the
permit. Inspections must pass all fire and health inspections. Failure to pass any inspection at any
time will result in cancellation of permit. With the cancellation of any permit, an applicant must submit
a new application and fee.
(g) Mobile food vendor's truck, concession cart, or concession trailer shall be self-sufficient for water and
sewer utilities. Use of water and wastewater hoses to provide utility service to mobile vending unit is
prohibited. Extension cords may be used for electrical service if the equipment and connection(s) used
between the vending unit and supplying source pose no threat to public safety (i.e. personal injury or
fire).
(h) All signage used by the mobile food vendor, including signage painted directly on the mobile food
vending unit, shall meet the standards and requirements of the city's sign ordinance, but shall not be
required to obtain a sign permit under that chapter.
(i) Mobile food vendors shall maintain the following fire prevention devices:
(1) All vendor shall keep at least 20 feet of separation from any permanent structure while using
cooking equipment.
(2) All mobile vendors shall provide means to shut off all electrical power with one motion shall be
accessible from the outside of the unit.
(3) All mobile food vendors shall keep at least one class ABC fire extinguisher with a minimum
3A40BC rating, with visible current inspection (tagged), fully charged, and located within 30 feet
of cooking equipment;
(4) All mobile food vendor units producing grease -laden vapors (grills, fryers, etc.) shall keep, in
addition to the extinguisher required in subsection (1), a Class K rated portable fire extinguisher,
with visible current inspection (tagged), fully charged, and located within 30 feet of cooking
equipment;
(5) All mobile food vendors units producing grease -laden particles within the mobile unit shall install
an extinguishing vent hood (Type 1 or other, if approved by the City Fire Marshal or designee),
which must be tested in the presence of the Stephenville Fire Marshal or designee before a permit
may be issued; and
(6) All mobile food vendor units using compressed gas (LP/propane cylinders, etc.) shall keep gas
containers secured outside of the passenger area of the vending unit. Compressed gas cylinders
shall be secured by one or more restraints to a fixed object or nested and secured by one or more
restraints and cannot be located closer than ten feet from any trash or combustible material. All
valves, hoses, and connections used shall be rated for use with petroleum gas.
(7) All mobile units using an LP gas system shall be equipped with a shutoff switch or valve accessible
from outside the unit.
Sec.5. - Enforcement.
Mobile Food Vendors
Page 4 of 5
F
(a) 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 outside of an employment relationship.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any individual directly or through his 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.
(a) It shall be unlawful to operate a mobile food vendor operation that is not in compliance with the Texas
Food Establishment Rules as amended from time to time.
(f) Any person convicted of a violation of any provision of this subsection shall be guilty of a Class C
misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,000.00 per occurrence.
PASSED AND APPROVED this the 5th day of September, 2017.
rry K. Weldon, II, Mayor
ATTEST:
City
Reviewed by Allen L. Barnes,
City Administrator
Randy Thomas, City Attorney
Approved as to form and legality
Mobile Food Vendors
Page 5 of 5