The processes and fees surrounding Food Trucks will look a little different for operators after members of the Protective and Social Services Committee voted to implement several changes.
Off the top, a daily, weekly, and monthly fee schedule has been approved, with operators looking at $14.30 per day $54.75 per week, $119.05 per month to park in city-controlled zones.
The controlled zones, however, will be bigger than in years past. South Bear Creek and The Eastlink Centre were added to the list which already contains Muskoseepi Park, Centre 2000, Downtown, Community Knowledge Campus, and the Montrose Cultural Centre.
“We took a dive into our internal processes to see what’s working and perhaps where we could find some efficiencies,” says Senior Executive Advisor for Protective and Social Services Wendy Hughes.
Hughes says the rise in popularity in food trucks, which jumped from 17 to 24 over the last calendar year, lead the city to effectively ask for the wants and desires of those involved in the growing industry. She says the recommendations made to members of the committee were the information they collected from owners and operators.
“Those included surveys to food truck owners themselves, the general public, the chamber of commerce, downtown association and neighbourhood association, so there were many stakeholders involved.”
Hughes says if the changes are implemented and get approval from members of council, they will continuously check in on the situation and will be reviewing it no later than one year after going into effect.
“At that time, we can re-visit, if we have a benchmark, if it needs to be increased, or we need to decrease the fees,” she says.
According to the current bylaws, all food trucks are required to have an inspection from the fire department, Alberta Health Services, and Inspection Services. Upon successful inspections, the unit is awarded a sticker, from each authority for the current year.
