Food trucks can now park in the city, compete over few spaces

Food trucks in the city will be able to operate on select pieces of private land next year, thanks to a pilot project the city will begin this summer.

The project will allow food trucks to set up in four locations around the city. Previously, they were only allowed on private land.

But unlike Edmonton, where food trucks can reserve a site, St. Albert’s sites are only available on a first come basis.

The project is a step in the right direction for vendors such as Ranya Abu Jaib. But the co-owner of Dedo’s Food Truck also worries about operators of food trucks competing for parking. She said they would have to come to an agreement about sharing the sites.

“We have to find a way to organize the locations between the food trucks,” she said. “It will be nice to see if it works or not, if people will like the idea, and if it’s good to move around or better to stay in one place.”

The pilot project was created out of a need for mobile vendor guidelines.

In the past, the city dealt with several requests from people wanting to use city land to sell their products. These included not only food trucks, but also people selling Taber corn, flags, windshield repairs and newspapers.

Without regulations in place, many of them were banned from doing business on city lands. Dedo’s set up in the Canadian Tire parking lot. Others remained in Edmonton, or came out only for special events.

Administration met with the chamber of commerce and members of the Perron District to discuss guidelines. They also looked at regulations in other communities, and invited vendors and the public to share their opinions at an open house in February.

With limited time available to create guidelines, focusing on food trucks was easier than creating regulations for all vendors, said Guy Boston, executive director of economic development, at a council meeting on Monday. The success of the pilot project will help define the city’s approach to mobile vendors in the future. And “food trucks is what most people know,” he said.

City councillors expressed concerns about the project.

The food trucks will operate in the city from May 1 until October 31. They will pay annual business licensing fees, which are $135 for residents and $656 for non-residents. The city will not give them a discount and Coun. Cathy Heron said she was not sure “if there will be any complaints or not“ about that.

Other council members worried that the vendors don’t pay enough. Coun. Sheena Hughes said the city is giving land to the vendors. But unlike Edmonton, they don’t pay for parking fees here. “This is a potential revenue source that is overlooked,” she said.

She also worried about the cost of the project, estimated at $5,000. Boston said that money would pay, in part, for painting lines on the ground to mark the parking spots, and to create signage. But he also expects the costs to be lower than estimated, he said.

Coun. Gilles Prefontaine asked if there was any suggestion for the vendors to compost or recycle, and Coun. Cam MacKay wondered about health inspections. He was told that, at this time, vendors are not forced to compost and Alberta Health will administer health inspections.

The mayor concluded the meeting stating that he was disappointed in the guidelines. He said the project was not unique to St. Albert and lacked considerations for the botanical arts brand, such as composting.

“I was expecting to see something that dealt with windshield repair and flags and towels and Taber corn,” he said. “I just felt disappointed when I read this.”