Traverse City Record-Eagle

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September 6, 2012

Committee to address food truck issue

By Vanessa McCray vmccray@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — A summer-long food truck debate will roll into fall, as a city commission committee forms to hash out peddling particulars.

Traverse City commissioners this week lowered an upcoming fee hike for one type of transient merchants: food vendors who operate in commercial areas outside downtown.

But commissioners aren't finished with food carts. They formed a committee comprised of Jim Carruthers, Michael Gillman and Mary Ann Moore to further review the roving restaurants.

Carruthers will chair the new group and said it will focus on food vendors' location, regulations and fees.

"I think we need to look at everything," he said.

The discussion will include possible city-owned parks, parking lots and streets where food vending might be permitted, he said. Carruthers aims to conclude the committee's work in a few months so any new rules are in place by next summer.

Debate over fees revealed two philosophies on peddling within the city. Some want to encourage an exciting street life and food-based entrepreneurs by keeping permit costs low and opening city property for vending.

Others concentrate on creating fairness between trucks or carts and property tax-paying, brick-and-mortar businesses and think fees are one way to strike that balance.

Downtown peddlers still will see fees jump from $50 to $100 daily in the peak season and from $50 to $100 weekly in the off-season, starting Sept. 15. Commissioners this week set up a new fee structure for food vendors outside the Downtown Development Authority after the downtown board clarified it never intended for its rate-raise recommendation to apply outside its borders. The approved change calls for those non-downtown, commercial area food peddlers to pay $50 daily, $750 monthly, $1,125 quarterly or $2,250 yearly.

Simon Joseph, owner of the local food truck Roaming Harvest, told commissioners he supports lowering fees outside downtown but said the annual rate is "out-of-step with what's happening around the country."

"I would also suggest not adopting another fee structure that we are going to have to revisit," he said.

Rewarding vendors who do business for half a year or longer is preferable, Amical's Dave Denison said during the meeting.

"I just don't think the city ought to sell itself short on the daily fee," he said. "I think that adopting some rewards for people that are here for the long term (is) where it's at."

Rates will be part of the new committee's discussion, as well as addressing where a food cart vendor can park. Carruthers wants the committee to welcome all vending viewpoints, including downtown business interests, food peddlers and city residents.

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