Chehalis planners advance draft food-truck rules to allow summer vendors while protecting brick-and-mortar businesses

Chehalis planning staff presented a draft food-truck ordinance at the Planning Commission's March 10 workshop aimed at allowing mobile vendors while protecting health, utilities and existing businesses. Celeste Wilder, community development director, told commissioners the code should let mobile vendors participate in daily commerce and community events while ensuring proper permitting and public-safety checks.

The draft differentiates temporary, semi-permanent and permanent uses. Staff said temporary vendors would be allowed for short events, semi-permanent vendors would need utility hookups and grease-management (FOG) equipment, and truly permanent operations would be treated like brick-and-mortar restaurants. "We're not gonna be able to stop them from coming," Wilder said, arguing the city should provide clear rules rather than allow unpermitted activity to continue.

Why it matters: staff said the rules are time-sensitive because businesses and events seek summer vending opportunities. The draft intends to give the city enforcement tools and a permitting path that holds vendors to health-department food-establishment standards and to building, fire and water department sign-offs.

Key provisions discussed - Health and utilities: Semi-permanent and permanent vendors must connect to water and sewer where hookups exist and comply with the city's FOG (fats, oils, grease) program; the health department issues food permits after multi-department sign-offs. - Zones: Staff proposed allowing mobile vendors in commercial and light-industrial zones but not heavy industrial; port properties would be treated separately and require port approval when applicable. - Temporary event rules: For residential zones, staff proposed limiting vendors to single-day private events (24 hours) with a maximum of four events per year; commissioners discussed restricting consecutive days (a working suggestion was no more than two consecutive days). - Duration and village models: Commissioners debated intermediate durations such as 48 hours or weekend-only allowances and questioned a 90-day seasonal allowance used by some cities for food-cart villages; several members said 90 days risks unfair competition with nearby restaurants. - Competition buffers: Staff proposed a 100-foot buffer measured from vendor ordering window to a brick-and-mortar entrance to reduce direct competition; commissioners debated whether duration limits or buffers are more enforceable. - Property permissions and right-of-way: Vendors operating on private parcels must demonstrate a lease or owner permission; use of public rights-of-way is allowed only for permitted special events (e.g., farmers markets) with appropriate road/sidewalk agreements. - Permanent food-cart villages: If a property owner develops a permanent multi-station food-court with poured pads and hookups, the property owner would pay capital facilities charges and provide the utility infrastructure; those sites would be permitted under a different, more permanent standard.

Responses and enforcement Commissioners raised concerns about unfair competition with existing businesses and about unpermitted vendors that avoid utility and permit costs. Staff said the city can revoke business licenses and use code enforcement and police assistance to address repeat violations.

Next steps Staff will incorporate commissioners' input, circulate a revised draft, and seek to release it for SIPA/SEPA next week. Planning staff asked commissioners to submit written comments by Friday of the coming week and said they plan to schedule a public hearing next month; staff told the commission they hope permitting could begin around June 1 if the code advances.

The commission did not take a final vote on the ordinance at the workshop; staff will return the draft for formal public hearing and additional direction.