The City of Penticton is ordering up a bit more revenue from street vending this year.
Council passed a staff recommendation last week to increase the street vending fee to $1,200 from $265 and add a fire inspection element to ensure safety.
Development services director Anthony Haddad said the city reviewed the cost of street vending contracts at the request of council last year, and found that vendors were charged considerably less than market levels for the four city locations.
According to the staff report, the Downtown Penticton Association charges $535 a season, which is one day a week. Canadian Tire charges $10 a day for hotdog vendors, which works out to $1,070 a summer season. Beach vendors pay $1,200 to the city per spot, and are only permitted between May 20 and Sept. 6. Street vendors would be permitted to operate all year if they choose.
Four locations were considered this year: the northeast corner of Westminster Avenue and Main Street; the southeast corner of Nanaimo Avenue and Main; the southwest corner of Nanaimo and Main; and the northeast corner of Wade Avenue and Main. Jeffer’s Fryzz Truck is under a long-term contract that is considered separate from street vending.
Dawg House and Wanna Waffle are not anticipated to reapply, leaving two places open. City staff note that they typically get seven calls a year requesting street vending information, primarily from outside the Okanagan Valley. Staff are recommending preference be given to returning vendors in good standing, given a cart is a $30,000 investment.
The city also proposed adding a fourth requirement of vendors: they must have $2 million in liability, a business licence and Interior Health permit. The recommended requirement would be fire department approval of cart-cooking system, in line with B.C. Safety Code requirements.
Mayor Dan Ashton said the vendors need to be cognizant of the costs associated with downtown businesses “around the immediate area of the carts.”
Coun. Andrew Jakubeit said he was pleased to see the report come forward. “I think we had gone through about two budget cycles and this slipped through the cracks.
The recommendation was unanimously approved by council.