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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 05/20/2014 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 065, 2014, AMENDINAgenda Item 2 Item # 2 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY May 20, 2014 City Council STAFF Jessica Ping-Small, Revenue and Project Manager SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 065, 2014, Amending Chapter 15, Article XIV of the City Code Regarding Outdoor Vendors. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on May 6, 2014, amends Chapter 15 of the City Code regarding Outdoor Vendors with two minor amendments to further support the outdoor vending community. In July 2012, City Council adopted new outdoor vendor regulations based on a comprehensive study completed by staff. Since the inception of the new regulations, staff has been monitoring the activity and working with the mobile vending community to address opportunities for improvement to the Code. Staff is recommending two updates to address the opportunities. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. ATTACHMENTS 1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, May 6, 2014 (PDF) 2. Ordinance No. 065, 2014 (PDF) Agenda Item 8 Item # 8 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY May 6, 2014 City Council STAFF Jessica Ping-Small, Revenue and Project Manager SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 065, 2014, Amending Chapter 15, Article XIV of the City Code Regarding Outdoor Vendors. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to amend Chapter 15 of the City Code regarding Outdoor Vendors with two minor amendments to further support the outdoor vending community. In July 2012, City Council adopted new outdoor vendor regulations based on a comprehensive study completed by staff. Since the inception of the new regulations, staff has been monitoring the activity and working with the mobile vending community to address opportunities for improvement to the Code. Staff is recommending two updates to address the opportunities. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends the adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION In early 2012, staff completed a comprehensive study of the existing Outdoor Vendor regulations including extensive public outreach and review of peer city regulations. The outcome of the study was the adoption of new regulations by City Council in July of 2012. The changes that were adopted addressed the following primary themes in Chapter 15 of the Municipal Code and Article 3-5 of the Land Use Code: City Code  Ability for vendors to operate in multiple locations and within public streets  More efficient licensing time frames - semi-annual and annual license options  Operating requirements  Clear definition of outdoor vendor types. Land Use Code  Location, type, signage and operation regulations  Accessory use added to all non-neighborhood zoning districts  New general definition for outdoor vendors. Since the inception of the new regulations, staff has worked closely with the outdoor vending community to ensure compliance and ongoing success. Overall the new regulations have been received very positively. Staff has received fewer than 5 complaints over the course of two years and there are currently over 25 outdoor vendors licensed to do business in the City of Fort Collins. ATTACHMENT 1 Agenda Item 8 Item # 8 Page 2 During the course of the past two years, staff has received feedback from the vendor community regarding possible adjustments to the regulations to further improve the opportunities to vend citywide. The feedback centered on two specific areas:  Current City Code limit of 4 mobile food trucks and 4 push carts (total of 8 vendors) during special vending events on private commercial property  Current City Code limit of 1 vendor on private commercial property at a time Additionally, vendors have also communicated a desire to hold large round-up or rally type of events on a regular basis. Two options currently exist to accommodate these events: Special Event Permit issued by Police Services and Parks Permit issued by the Parks Department. Staff held two stakeholder meetings in March 2014 to solicit additional feedback and review possible solutions to the current limitations. Based on the stakeholder meetings and additional research, staff is proposing to address the concerns in two phases: Phase 1 Time frame - Now:  Amend Chapter 15 of the City Code to remove the limitation of 4 mobile food trucks and 4 push carts during Special Vending events and allow 8 outdoor vendors of any type. o This amendment supports the vendors request to have 8 mobile food trucks at one time during Special Vending events on private commercial property. o Staff supports this change and does not consider it an encroachment on of the definition of Accessory Use in the Land Use Code.  Amend Chapter 15 of the City Code to allow 2 vendors on private commercial property at a time. o This amendment supports the desire of vendors and private commercial property owners to have more than one food option and/or complimentary options such as a hot food truck and a cold food or dessert truck. o Staff supports this change and does not consider it an encroachment on of the definition of Accessory Use in the Land Use Code.  Staff is working with the vendors to organize some large onetime events in Community Parks throughout the city - no Code change required. Phase 2 Time frame - Next 12 months:  Consider amending the Land Use Code to include “Outdoor Vendors” as a land use type similar to Farmers’ Markets. The Planning Division has added this item to its list of possible amendments for 2015.  Continue to research possible opportunities for vendors to hold large events on a regular basis. Potential solutions include: o Additional amendments to the City and Land Use Code o Utilization of City property in the downtown area Agenda Item 8 Item # 8 Page 3 Staff is proposing the phased approach because it provides immediate low impact solutions to accommodate the 2014 summer season and provides additional time to research the long term opportunities and impacts of expanding the City Code and Land Use Code. Summary Staff is recommending City Council adopt the ordinance to amend Chapter 15 of the City Code to allow:  Remove the Special Vending limitation of 4 mobile food trucks and 4 push carts and allow 8 vendors of any type as defined in Chapter 15 of the City Code.  Two vendors on private commercial property at one time - Code currently only allows one vendor. PUBLIC OUTREACH Staff held stakeholder meetings on March 25 and 31 to solicit additional feedback and review possible solutions to the current limitations. The stakeholder meetings were very well attended and included the majority of the licensed mobile vendors, members of the Downtown Development Authority and representatives from private industry including local breweries. Additional outreach will be conducted as part of Phase 2 of the review. - 1 - ORDINANCE NO. 065, 2014 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 15, ARTICLE XIV OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS REGARDING OUTDOOR VENDORS WHEREAS, on July 17, 2012, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 058, 2012, making numerous amendments to Article XIV of Chapter 15 of the City Code, to update and expand the licensing of outdoor vendors in Fort Collins and establish related requirements (the “Outdoor Vendors Code”); and WHEREAS, the 2012 amendments were made to address the growing trend and demand in Fort Collins for mobile food trucks and other outdoor vendors; and WHEREAS, since these amendments were adopted, City staff has worked closely with the outdoor vending community to ensure compliance with the Outdoor Vendors Code and the ongoing success of vendors operating under it; and WHEREAS, while the Outdoor Vendors Code has worked well during the past two years, City staff has received feedback from outdoor vendors requesting two amendments to it to expand the opportunities available to them to conduct their businesses within the City; and WHEREAS, the first amendment would remove the current limitation that not more than four outdoor vendors of any single vendor type, such as mobile food truck vendors or pushcart vendors, can make up the maximum of eight outdoor vendors allowed for a temporary event conducted under a special vending license; and WHEREAS, removing this limitation would allow any combination of outdoor vendors not exceeding a maximum of eight to serve a licensed event; and WHEREAS, the second amendment would increase from one to two the number of outdoor vendors that can operate at one time on a parcel of land when not operating under a special vending license or under a license for special events; and WHEREAS, these two amendments are reasonable adjustments to the Outdoor Vendors Code that will allow outdoor vendors more flexibility in providing their services in Fort Collins. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That Section 15-382(c) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 15-382. License required. . . . - 2 - (c) The Financial Officer may issue a special vending license to a person responsible for an occasional, temporary event located solely on a single private lot when the event does not require the issuance of a special events permit under Chapter 23.5 of this Code. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 15-386 and § 15-387 of this Article, the requirements applicable to outdoor vendors operating as part of a special vending license event shall be determined by the Financial Officer on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the location, nature and scope of the special vending event, and any related circumstances. Upon the issuance of such special vending license, an outdoor vendor operating within the terms of and as part of a special vending license shall not be required to obtain a separate outdoor vendor license for that operation. Any special vending license shall be subject to the following restrictions and limitations: (1) No more than four (4) such licenses shall be issued for a specified property during any calendar year; (2) No more than a total of eight (8) outdoor vendors may participate as part of a licensed event; and (3) The number and type of outdoor vendors to be allowed as part of a licensed event shall be determined by the Financial Officer based on the specific circumstances of the proposed event, including, but not limited to, the location of the event, the size of the lot where the event is held, the types of surrounding land uses and their proximity to the event, and any other potential impacts on public health, safety and welfare that the proposed event may have. . . . Section 2. That Section 15-387(k) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 15-387. Restrictions and operation. . . . (k) No more than two (2) outdoor vendors of any specified type may be licensed to operate on any lot, tract or parcel of land, except that this limitation shall not apply to special vending licenses and licenses for special events as described in § 15-382 of this Article. . . . - 3 - Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 6th day of May, A.D. 2014, and to be presented for final passage on the 20th day of May, A.D. 2014. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 20th day of May, A.D. 2014. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk