Plain City holds public hearing on proposed mobile-vendors code; local vendor urges changes on hours, nightly moves and electrical rules

Plain City opened a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the codified ordinances creating Chapter 11.94 (mobile vendors). Business owner Leslie Perkins, who operates an ice-cream concession trailer, told council the draft ordinance would unfairly require trailers parked on private commercial property to be disconnected and moved every night, limit operating hours on private property to six per day and prohibit electrical cords for refrigeration.

Perkins said she moved her business onto a paved commercial lot at 345 North Chillicothe Street after a prior location proved unsuitable, and that the proposed rules would make her business impractical. “If my trailer is sitting on my rented commercial property, why does it have to be moved every night?” she asked. Perkins said she is 63 years old, that hooking up and moving a 16-foot trailer alone at night is onerous, and that refrigeration equipment requires a power connection. She asked whether the six-hour limit would apply to large events such as July 4, the Steam Show or Rock the Clock.

Town staff reopened the hearing to allow Perkins to finish. She added that the draft’s prohibition of electrical cords would leave her unable to keep refrigeration running overnight without a generator inside the truck, which she said would be loud and impractical.

The ordinance language was presented as a first reading; council did not adopt the ordinance at this meeting. Staff said a template sponsorship agreement and other items were in the packet for review but that the mobile-vendors amendment will return for further consideration.

Perkins told the council she would meet with staff to discuss amendments. No motion or vote on the mobile-vendor ordinance was taken at this meeting.