The Town of Yarmouth, N.S., is holding a public meeting Tuesday to get feedback about whether food trucks that operate on private properties should be allowed to operate year-round.
The current rules classify these businesses as seasonal in nature and only allow them to be open for nine months of the year in the same space.
Clark Sigfridson is the owner of Cafe x Clark, a food truck that sells locally roasted, organic, fair-trade coffee and baked goods from the parking lot of the Canadian Tire on Starrs Road. He said the current rules aren't good for small businesses.
"In the coffee business, you want to be in one location and you want to be very regular because your customers demand it.
"So, operating in this location for nine months and then finding another location, people are going to get out of their routine, which can be very damaging to the business. Or shutting down for three months, which I did for the first season, is damaging to the business owner," he said.
Sigfridson filed an application to the town to change the bylaw, which is what prompted tonight's public meeting. The 7 p.m. meeting is in the council chambers at Town Hall.
Food truck operators can get a permit to operate year-round at public spaces at a cost of $500. However, because the spaces are public, there's no guarantee the same spot will await the operator each day.
"If somebody gets there ahead of you, you know, you've paid your $500, but it doesn't mean you've rented that particular space," said Yarmouth Mayor Pam Mood.
Commercial tax concerns
A town staff report notes that one of the concerns with food trucks is that because they aren't permanent structures, they aren't included in the value of a commercial lot's property and don't therefore generate additional tax revenue for the town.
"However, these seasonal retail uses [temporary uses] still depend on the Town's services, such as streets, sidewalks, police, fire, etc.," notes the document.
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Food truck operators using the seasonal licence don't have to pay any fees for it. Mood said this is because they're most likely paying rent to the private businesses from whose grounds they're operating.
Mood said food trucks make communities more fun and vibrant, so she's in favour of the proposed change.
"I just think it encourages more business and we just find our way through it," she said.