[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Smithfield 9-17-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-05. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A vehicle which, upon issuance of a license by the Town Clerk
and conformance with the regulations established by this article,
may temporarily park on a public street or private property and engage
in the service, sale or distribution of food, prepared on site, for
individual portion service to the general public directly from the
vehicle.
The registered owner of a mobile food vehicle or the owner's
agent or employee.
A stationary vendor that is selling or offering for sale
any food or beverage, on any private property from a stationary location,
and remaining on site during nonoperational hours.
The provisions of this article apply to mobile food vehicles or stationary food vendors engaged in the business of cooking, preparing and distributing food or beverage with or without charge upon or in public and private restricted spaces. This article does not apply to those vehicles that would be considered strictly a hawker or peddler distributing prepared foods, such as catering trucks and/or ice cream/lemonade trucks. See §§ 268-1 through 268-5 provisions covering hawkers and peddler licensing.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate within the Town a
mobile food vehicle or be a stationary food vendor without having
obtained from the Town Council a license for that purpose.
B.
Except for stationary food vendors licensed prior to passage of this
article, no licenses shall be issued for stationary food vendors in
the Town of Smithfield.
C.
A person desiring to operate a mobile food vehicle shall make written application for such license or renewal of such license to the Town Clerk. A person desiring to operate as a stationary food vendor who qualifies under Subsection B above shall make written application for renewal of such license to the Town Clerk. The application for a license or a renewal of license shall be on forms provided by the Town Clerk and shall include the following:
(1)
Name, signature, phone number, e-mail contact and business address
of the applicant.
(2)
A description of the preparation methods and food product offered
for sale, including the intended menu.
(3)
Information on the mobile food vehicle, to include year, make and
model of the vehicle and dimensions, which shall not exceed 36 feet
in length or nine feet in width.
(4)
Information setting forth the proposed hours of operation, area of
operations, and plans for power access, water supply and wastewater
disposal.
(5)
If utilizing private property, a stationary food vendor who is licensed
under the provisions of this article must present to the Town Clerk,
and must retain a copy to keep in his or her possession, a notarized
letter from the owner of the property on which he or she is selling
authorizing the person to sell upon the property. This authorization
must be current and must state for how long the permission is granted,
but in no event will same authorization be valid for a period of more
than one year.
(6)
Copies of all necessary licenses and permits issued by the Rhode
Island Department of Health and the Rhode Island Division of Taxation.
(7)
Any person applying for a license under the provisions of this article
shall sign a hold-harmless agreement indemnifying the Town of Smithfield,
its officers, agents and employees from any liability arising out
of or in the course of his or her business or the granting of a license
for same.
D.
All Town-sponsored events shall be exempt from the licensing requirements
of this section.
A.
Each person, upon applying for a license, and whose business will
include the sale of any food or beverage, must show acceptable proof
to the Town Clerk or his or her designee of having been issued from
the Department of Health a current State of Rhode Island permit for
the sale of food.
It is further required that any person applying for a license
under the provisions of this article sign a hold-harmless agreement
indemnifying the Town of Smithfield, its officers, agents and employees
from any liability arising out of or in the course of his or her business
or the granting of a license for same.
A.
The fee for the issuance of a license granted pursuant to this article
shall be $75. Each mobile food establishment or stationary food vendor
to be used by a person shall be separately licensed, and the license
fee chargeable hereunder shall be paid for each such mobile food establishment
or stationary food vendor.
B.
There shall be a $50 per license fee for each mobile food establishment
license granted pursuant to this article, which shall be paid upon
application by an existing restaurant sites located in the Town of
Smithfield.
All licenses issued under the provisions of this article shall
be for a term of one calendar year and shall expire on the first day
of March unless sooner revoked or voided under the provisions of this
article.
All licenses issued under the provisions of this article shall
authorize only the person named therein to sell and offer for sale
as aforesaid. No license issued under the provisions of this article
shall be transferable. A license is valid for one vehicle only and
shall not be transferred between vehicles.
A.
No operator of a mobile food vehicle or stationary food vendor shall
park, stand or move a vehicle and conduct business within areas of
the Town where the license holder has not been authorized to operate.
B.
The customer service area for mobile food vehicles shall be on the
side of the truck that faces a curb, lawn or sidewalk when parked.
No food service shall be provided on the driving-lane side of the
truck. No food shall be prepared sold, or displayed outside the mobile
food vehicles.
C.
No mobile food vehicle vendor shall provide or allow any dining area
within 10 feet of the mobile food vehicle, including, but not limited
to, tables and chairs, booths, stools, benches or stand-up counters.
D.
Customers shall be provided with single-service articles, such as
plastic utensils and paper plates, and a waste container for their
disposal. All mobile food vehicle vendors or stationary food vendors
shall offer a waste container for public use which the vendor shall
empty at its own expense. All trash and garbage originating from the
mobile or stationary food operations shall be collected and disposed
of offsite by the operators each day. Spills of food or food by-products
shall be cleaned up, and no dumping of gray water, grease, or anything
on the streets is allowed.
E.
No mobile food vehicle, vehicle vendor, or stationary food vendor
shall make or cause to be made any unreasonable or excessive noise.
The operation of all food vehicles shall meet the Town Noise Ordinance,[1] including generators. No loud music, other high-decibel
sounds, horns, or amplified announcements are allowed.
F.
No flashing or blinking lights or strobe lights are allowed by stationary
food vendor or mobile food vehicles or related signage when the vehicle
is parked and engaged in serving customers. All exterior lights with
over 60 watts shall contain opaque hood shields to direct the illumination
downward.
G.
Mobile food vehicles when parked on public streets shall be parked
in conformance with all applicable parking restrictions and shall
not hinder the lawful parking or operation of other vehicles.
H.
Mobile food vehicles shall be allowed to operate from 7:00 a.m. to
10:00 p.m., seven days a week, including holidays.
I.
A mobile food vehicle shall not: 1) be parked on the street overnight;
or 2) be left unattended and unsecured at any time food is in the
vehicle. Any mobile food vehicle found to be in violation of 1) or
2) above shall be considered a public safety hazard and may be ticketed
and towed away.
J.
The issuance of a mobile food vehicle license does not grant or entitle
the vendor to the exclusive use of any legal public spot within the
prescribed territorial limits.
K.
No mobile food vehicle shall use external signage, bollard, or other
equipment not contained within the vehicle. When extended, awnings
for mobile food vehicles shall have minimum clearance which does not
present a hazard to pedestrians.
L.
Any power required for the mobile food vehicle located on a public
way shall be self-contained and a mobile food vehicle shall not use
utilities drawn from the public right-of-way. Mobile food vehicles
on private property may use electrical power from the property being
occupied or an adjacent property, but only when the property owner
provides written consent to do so. All power sources must be self-contained.
No power cable or equipment shall be extended at or across any Town
street, alley or sidewalk.
The following limits further define where a mobile food vehicle
can and cannot operate:
B.
Not within 500 feet of any open brick-and-mortar restaurant.
D.
Not within 20 feet of driveways, bus stops or crosswalks.
E.
Not in a handicap parking area or no-parking zone.
F.
Not within 500 feet of any fair, festival, special event or civic event that is licensed or sanctioned by the Town unless the vendor has obtained permission from the event sponsor and is duly licensed or has a special event permit issued by the Town of Smithfield. (See Chapter 186, Article III, Special Events.)
G.
Not in an area where such operation is deemed by the Chief of Police,
or his/her designee, to endanger or inconvenience the general public
or where there is determined to be a disturbance of the peace.
H.
Not on private property without the written permission of the owner
of the property, and such permission shall be conspicuously displayed
at all times.
Each person granted a license in accordance with the provisions
of this article shall conspicuously exhibit the license at all times
while selling within the Town limits.
A.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article may be
fined not less than $50 nor more than $500 and his or her license
may be revoked by the Town Council for the remainder of its term.
Any licensee whose license is revoked by the Town Council for the
first time shall not have the right to reapply for another license
under this article for the next successive licensing year. Any licensee
whose license is revoked by the Town Council for the second time shall
not have the right to reapply for another license under this article
for the next two successive licensing years. Any licensee whose license
is revoked by the Town Council for the third time shall be permanently
barred from reapplying for another license under this article.
B.
Every individual sale or offer for sale made contrary to the provisions
of this article shall be deemed and construed as a distinct and separate
offense, and the person making the sale or offer of sale shall be
prosecuted therefor in the manner hereinafter prescribed.
C.
Upon the cancellation or revocation of any license, the person holding
the license shall surrender or return the same to the Town Clerk or
his/her designee.
D.
Any person operating without the appropriate license shall be fined
a minimum of $250 for each offense and any associated vehicle and
may be ticketed and impounded by the Smithfield police.
If any provision of this article is to be held invalid by a
court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be considered
separately and apart from the remaining provisions, which shall remain
in full force and effect.
