[Adopted 3-4-2020 by Ord. No. 19-33-A; amended in its entirety 5-8-2020 by Ord. No. 20-11A]
This article is enacted pursuant to the authority granted in
R.I. General Laws § 5-11.1-1 et seq. Any inconsistencies
of the article with the State Mobile Food Establishment Registration
Act (the "MFER Act") shall be interpreted to comply with the MFER
Act.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A food service operation that is operated from a movable
motor-driven or propelled vehicle, portable structure, or watercraft
that can change location. "Mobile food establishments" specifically
includes, but is not limited to, food trucks, food carts, ice cream
trucks/carts, and lemonade trucks/carts ("MMFE").
A person or corporate entity who or that owns, manages, or
controls, or who or that has the duty to manage or control, the operation
of a mobile food establishment.
A person who prepares, sells, cooks, or serves food or beverages
from a mobile food establishment.
A permit issued by the Town of Cumberland to a mobile food
establishment operator that possesses a current state mobile food
establishment registration ("MMFE permit").
A registration issued by the Department of Business Regulation
which authorizes a mobile food establishment vendor to operate in
this state.
The holder of a state mobile food establishment registration.
(a)
The Town Clerk shall be the designated contact and the permitting
authority for municipal mobile food establishment permits (MMFE permits).
The Town Clerk shall comply with the requirements of Title 230, RI
Department of Business Regulation, Sub. 35, Mobile Food Establishments,
Part 1.8(A)(1).
(b)
The Town Clerk shall accept applications for MMFE permits by email
or any other reasonable means of delivery and grant and issue permits
that meet the submission requirements of this section, and shall report
to the Town Council permits granted and issued at its next regularly
scheduled meeting.
(c)
No person or business entity, including religious or charitable organizations,
shall operate an MMFE in any public, private, restricted space or
state-owned property within the Town, or participate in any event
or mass gathering, without a permit issued by the Town Clerk, which
is the permitting authority under this article. MMFEs shall not be
regulated as hawkers or peddlers.
The Town Council, after notice to the holder of an MMFE permit
and a public hearing, may deny, suspend or revoke an MMFE permit if
the operation of the registrant within the Town violates or would
violate the Town's land use regulations, including the Zoning Ordinance,[1] or other Town ordinances in relation to the operation
of an MMFE.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Appendix B, Zoning.
When disciplinary action is taken against the holder of an MMFE
permit, the Town Clerk shall notify the Department of Business Regulation
in writing and provide documentation of such discipline within three
business days of the initiation of such disciplinary action.
(a)
MMFEs that sell prepackaged ice cream, ice cream products and frozen
lemonade are permitted to travel through residential and agricultural
zoning districts and must stop only long enough to complete the sale
of their product.
(b)
MMFEs that sell foods and beverages are prohibited from operating
and parking in residential and agricultural zoning districts unless
catering a private event and not selling at retail to the general
public.
(c)
MMFEs may park in any legal parking space on a public street for
up to four consecutive hours in one day, but not within 50 feet of
an entrance to a restaurant.
(d)
MMFEs may not park or operate on school grounds until one hour after
classes are dismissed for the day, unless contracted by the school
or school department for a special event. Tucker Field shall not be
considered school grounds.
[Amended 4-5-2023 by Ord. No. 23-03]
(e)
No MMFE shall operate or park in any location which would restrict
or interfere with the ingress or egress of abutting property owners,
create a public nuisance, increase traffic congestion or delay, or
constitute a hazard to life and/or property, or obstruct adequate
access to fire, police or safety vehicles.
(f)
MMFEs shall provide service articles, including appropriate servingware,
and a waste container that the MMFE will empty at its own expense.
(g)
No temporary tables or seating areas are permitted on public property,
unless approved by the Town Council.
When operating in the Town of Cumberland, the MMFE permit must
be prominently displayed where it can be seen by the consumer, in
close proximity to the point of service.
An MMFE permit shall expire on the same day that the state mobile
food establishment registration expires.
[Amended 7-9-2020 by Ord.
No. 20-16; 4-21-2021 by Ord. No. 21-10; 4-5-2023 by Ord. No. 23-03]
(a)
Beginning April 1, 2023, no MMFE shall operate on Town property without
obtaining approval from the Director of Parks and Recreation of their
specific location(s) for a specific day(s) and time(s). The only grounds
for denial by the Director shall be when the location is licensed,
or permission has otherwise been granted to an organization, for another
purpose, or when there would be a threat to public safety because,
among other things, potential for overcrowding, poor vehicular and/or
pedestrian circulation, or substantial loss of necessary parking spaces.
The fact that another MMFE is using the property is not grounds for
denial.
