Planning commission backs cap on mobile food vending; recommends 20 permits excluding city restaurants

On June 5 the Conway Planning Commission recommended limiting the number of annual mobile food vending permits issued within city limits to 20 per year on a first-complete-application, first-served basis, excluding brick-and-mortar restaurants that hold a city business license. The recommendation responds to staff concerns that the number of mobile-vending applications has grown substantially and requires considerable staff time to process and enforce.

Planning staff summarized application and enforcement burdens: mobile vending applicants must supply state licensing, a multi-page application, site plans, fire inspection, insurance certificates for franchise agreements, and coordinate reviews with multiple city departments. Staff reported a rapid increase in permit reviews from a handful in 2018 to dozens annually; one staff member currently spends much of the season handling vending permits and enforcement.

At staff’s initial presentation, city staff proposed a 40-permit cap. Commissioners and members of the public raised concerns about enforcement, the competitive impact on brick-and-mortar restaurants, and the administrative workload. Several commissioners suggested a lower starting cap and an exclusion for restaurants that already operate within the city. A motion to recommend a 20-permit cap (excluding properly licensed city restaurants) carried.

Under the commission’s recommendation, applications must be complete to be counted in the first-served queue; incomplete applications will not hold a place in the queue. Staff said existing permitted vendors would not be stripped of permits mid-year, but caps would operate on the annual renewal/permit cycle.