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City council approves cap on mobile food-vending permits, excludes in-city restaurants and special events
Summary
Conway City Council approved an amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance to cap annual transient mobile food-vending permits at 20, excluding properly licensed in-city restaurants and special-event vendors; council asked staff to consider a separate exemption for franchise agreements operating on city property.
Conway City Council on June 16 approved an amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance that limits the number of transient mobile food-vending permits the city will issue each year.
The ordinance amendment, recommended by the Planning Commission and by staff, sets a cap of 20 permits per year and excludes dining establishments located within Conway’s city limits and vendors operating under special-event permits. Staff said the initial draft had proposed a cap of 40; the Planning Commission recommended 20 and staff endorsed that recommendation. Council members discussed whether to add a further exemption for franchise agreements—vendors that would operate on city-owned property and require council approval.
The measure matters to downtown businesses and to operators of mobile food vehicles because it creates an annual limit that could affect where and how often trucks and trailers operate in the city. Planning staff noted comparators: Horry County caps 50 permits annually and the City of Myrtle Beach caps 20 (the latter excludes franchise agreements). During the council discussion, Councilmember Collins described what he saw in other markets: “If there's one food truck, there's 10,000 food trucks,” and urged flexibility in the future so the council could revisit the cap if demand or circumstances change.
Staff told the council the amendment would not affect mobile vendors who operate under special-event permits or those who have a brick-and-mortar dining establishment in town. Staff also described franchise agreements to the council as a separate category, requiring additional council review because they involve city-owned property.
Council moved and approved the amendment as recommended by Planning Commission and staff. Councilmembers directed staff to draft language that would allow the council to consider a franchise-exemption later, if desired.
The ordinance now advances for final reading and adoption at a future council meeting; the text as approved at first reading caps transient mobile vending permits at 20 per year and explicitly excludes city-licensed dining establishments and special-event vendors.
