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Hot Dog Vendors Have A Place In Brick - With Restrictions
By Catherine Snipe
For Councilwoman Ruthanne Scaturro, the unanimous passage of the mobile food vendors ordinance was a sigh of relief.
"Finally!" Scaturro said, as three years of work and revision became new regulations for hot dog vendors who operate out of carts and trucks in the township.
The regulations were previously a vaguely worded mess that set the same rules for hot dog vendors as it did for peddlers, canvassers and solicitors.
Scaturro said the new mobile food vendor ordinance rewords the vague terms for permitted businesses, and places hot dog vendors in their own category.
The new rules outline this type of business as one that "goes from house to house, from place to place or from street to street offering for sale prepared or packaged food, beverages and dairy products."
Now, these vendors must hold a license, with the fees ranging from $100 to $250 for each vehicle, and $25 for each operator of the vehicle.
Resident Richard Gross took issue with the low cost of the license.
"You were previously suggesting $1,000," he said.
The new ordinance would prohibit the vendors from occupying residential lots, instead limiting them to commercial, industrial or office-professional zone in the township.
And, the licensee must have the written permission of the property owner in order to operate in a stationary location.
In 2004, the issue of hot dog vendors gained momentum after "brick-and-mortar" business owners said those vendors had an unfair advantage. The mobile vendors, they argued, got to stay in one spot, but did not have to pay rent or property taxes like other businesses do.
Mobile hot dog vendors responded at council meetings, saying they are limited in the licenses they can hold, and pose no threat to other businesses.
At the time, some carts operated out of residential neighborhoods. The current ordinance limits that further; carts cannot operate at a stationary location on a public street, and instead must park on property. If it is a parking area, the cart cannot take up more than two spots.
The ordinance gives very specific language to an area once unclear: The specific rules allow for enforcement officers to monitor the carts and make sure rules are being complied.
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