In March, Kyle residents Mark LeMense and Samantha Bellows and San Marcos resident Dana Shehane rallied to open their shaved ice trailer on Center Street in Kyle, but city staffers said ordinances prohibit temporary food vendors. (Courtesy photo)

by SEAN KIMMONS

The battle of peddlers peddling in Kyle is over. And the peddlers have won, sort of.

On Aug. 3, the Kyle City Council unanimously approved a revised city ordinance allowing peddlers, such as mobile and temporary vendors who offer food services, to operate within city limits – but not without abiding strict guidelines.

In March, local food vendors began to protest an out-dated ordinance that made it extremely difficult for them to work in the city. But the new 11-page ordinance still worries vendors who want to see a law support small business owners, not cause them headaches.

City officials clamped down on vendors out of fear that they would litter the streets and steal business from stationary businesses which invest more into the city. They also noted that a tough ordinance would deter overcrowding issues that Austin is currently facing with its vendors.

Samantha Bellows, who co-owns a snow cone stand called The Chilly Penguin, has sparred with city officials in the past and was disappointed with the revision. The new ordinance fails to reveal how much permit fees cost or if there was a time limit for city staff to process a peddler application, she said.

She was also dumbfounded why the chief of police or designated representative, as it is currently written in the ordinance, can enforce and revoke permits.

“The police department has their hands full and I respect them for what they do,” she told the council. “But they are not code enforcers or health inspectors nor should we expect them to function as one.”

Interim City Manager James Earp later addressed her concerns, saying that police already enforce ordinances and that fees would be determined as part of the budget process.

“I recommend that dollar amount to be relatively minor,” Earp told the council, adding it could be $150 to $175 annually for mobile vendors and about $15 a month for temporary vendors.

Under the ordinance, mobile and temporary food vendors have to adhere to a laundry list of rules that cover health and city regulations.

Mobile food vendors are required to obtain a quarterly permit, sell food from an approved commissary, have a self-contained pressurized water system, a hand washing sink and can operate from 6 a.m. to 30 minutes past dusk. They are not allowed to connect to city utilities or stay at one location for longer than 60 minutes, among other restrictions.

Temporary food vendors are required to obtain a monthly permit, sell food from an approved commissary and can only operate for nine months out of the year on private property where an existing, permanent business is located and restroom facilities are available.

They also cannot hook up to city utilities, set up tables and chairs for customers, operate a drive-thru or be located within 150 feet from residential areas or another temporary vendor on the same lot, as well as other limitations.

The city, however, did throw out a “double-fee” clause in the ordinance that required property owners to obtain a conditional use permit if they chose to have a permitted temporary vendor utilize their site. It also expanded mobile food vendors’ time at one place from 15 to 60 minutes.