Shabbang curbside eats and catering (photo credit: Facebook)

By Kevin Rothwell

$100 to over $2,000 a season

Mobile food vendor fees vary widely in Okanagan

May 14, 2021 | 5:30 AM

Operating a food truck or trailer in different communities in the Okanagan Valley, as many operators do, carries a vastly different fee structure.

Coldstream Council has called a special meeting for Monday, May 17 to adopt its new mobile food vendor fee policy.

The new structure came about after the district’s first food vendor Crepe Bistro inquired why Coldstream’s fee ($300 a month) was so much higher than neighboring Vernon ($300 a year.)

On Monday May 10, council passed a motion to harmonize the fee with the rate charged in Vernon.

To operate a Mobile Vending business in Coldstream at one of the identified public areas, a vendor previously would be charged the following:

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• Business license fee – $60

• License of Occupation Application fee – $100 per year

• License of Occupation Rental Fee – $300 per month

A vendor operating on private property, as Crepe Bisto had done previous years at the Kal Store parking lot, only incurred the licence fee, and whatever rent arrangement they reached with the property owner.

A report prepared by Director of Development Services Ryan Roycroft took a little deeper dive into valley wide fee structures. It should be noted that some areas charge lower fees for food carts and other temporary structures (tent and table).

Food vendor fee comparisons (photo credit: District of Coldstream)

Some communities have taken the stance that food trucks compete directly with local restaurants, without the infrastructure and tax burden borne by a bricks and mortar business.

“Staff believe that matching the fees charged by the City of Vernon is an appropriate approach. For the purposes of mobile vending, Coldstream and Vernon would have similar catchment areas and similar value propositions for a vendor. Cost structures to provide file processing, document preparation and defray any traffic impacts will be similar,” Roycroft stated in a report to council.

The report indicates the financial impact of the fee adjustment on the district will be negligible, and may encourage more mobile vendors to look at setting up in Coldstream.