At long last, a mobile vending bylaw
Clearview Council passed its licensing bylaw Monday night, giving the Creemore BIA veto power over any applications from mobile vendors looking to set up in an area bounded by Collingwood Street, Wellington Street, Library Street and the Mad River.
That provision was one of several amendments to the proposed bylaw negotiated by Council members during Monday’s meeting, after a months-long process that saw the Creemore BIA and the Stayner Chamber of Commerce submit a number of proposed revisions to the first draft of the bylaw. These recommendations were reviewed in July by a committee comprised of Councillors Thom Paterson, Shawn Davidson and Doug Measures, and a second draft of the bylaw came to the table Monday night.
Debate on the subject was preceded by a deputation from BIA president Corey Finkelstein, who noted that downtown businesses in Creemore are “still not in favour of the bylaw in general,” and that they’d seen “no evidence that mobile vendors will have any kind of positive impact” on their bottom lines. Those points made, he repeated the BIA’s request to be made commenters on any applications within its geographic area should the bylaw be passed.
An amendment fulfilling that request, stating that no vending would be permitted within a specified BIA commenting area without a recommendation from the BIA approving the location, was passed unanimously after being moved by Councillor Davidson and seconded by Councillor Paterson. Councillor Measures noted an objection to allowing the BIA to comment on areas outside its specific jurisdiction, but conceded that the wider designated area was still relevant to the downtown area and said he would support the amendment in order to get the bylaw passed.
The Stayner Chamber of Commerce notified the Township previous to the meeting that it did not wish to have the ability to comment on applications.
Further amendments were passed prohibiting mobile vending on municipal land except during special events and removing a clause that exempted wholesale vendors from the bylaw. With that, the bylaw was approved by a unanimous vote of Council.
Under the new bylaw, mobile vendors are designated as Class ‘A’ (for profit, or commercial, motorized sales) and Class ‘B’ (for profit, or commercial, non-motorized sales). Not for profit sales, where the majority of proceeds benefit the municipality, a community organization, or a registered charitable organization, are exempt. Class ‘A’ vendors will pay the Township $50 per day to a maximum of $1,000 over a calendar year, while Class ‘B’ vendors will pay $25 per day to a maximum of $500. Vendors will be subject to annual inspections and will need to provide the Township with drawings showing the proposed location of their vehicle or structure.
Applications will flow through the clerk’s office, and in the case of the BIA commenting area, they will then be forwarded to the BIA for approval or denial before coming back to the Township.
Speaking to the Echo after Monday’s meeting, BIA president Finkelstein said he was happy with the bylaw as passed.
