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Council hears staff finding: open-fat fryers in tents violate building code
Summary
Staff reported a mobile lumpia vendor was operating without approvals and that the building code prohibits open fat fryers within tents; council discussed jurisdictional complexity (Mason County pilot) and resource limits for a city-run mobile-vendor program.
City staff told the Port Orchard council they had investigated complaints about a mobile lumpia vendor operating from a tent and concluded the setup did not comply with the building code.
Mister Bond (city staff) said his follow-up found the vendor was operating in Mason County rather than Shelton and that Mason County has a small pilot program for mobile vendors. Bond told the council that building code standards prohibit cooking equipment such as open fat fryers within 20 feet of a tent, citing fire risk and potential grease entering storm drains. "The building code does not allow, open fat fryers within a tent," he said, and added that mobile frying operations must be in a food truck with proper hood and fire-suppression equipment.
Staff told council the city lacks capacity to launch a comparable mobile-vendor permitting and inspection program now; they also said special-event exemptions exist (farmers markets, night markets) when staff inspect one-time set-ups. Council members asked staff to continue monitoring and to bring back guidance if the vendor seeks to locate inside Port Orchard.
