The Town of Innisfil could be cooking up changes to its food truck bylaw.
Deputy Mayor Kenneth Fowler brought a motion to the floor at the recent council meeting calling for the town to allow more refreshment trailers in the municipality at any given time.
“When we had a smaller community, you could keep a reign on the number of trucks and whatnot. As we’re becoming more of a tourist destination – and it’s clearly obvious from anybody who comes down to any of our beaches on a weekend – we need the opportunity to provide," he said June 7.
The current bylaw, first passed a decade ago, limits the number of food trucks in town to 10, excluding any that may partake in special events. There are currently eight food trucks licensed to do business in Innisfil, as listed on the town’s website.
If the 10 slots are full, a waiting list system is put in place.
“It’s a good functioning bylaw, but it needs to be re-investigated,” Fowler said. “Space is limited in town for building, for anyone who wishes to open any sort of business. This will allow someone who wants to come to Innisfil, create a job and serve the community, whether they live here or whether they’re a visitor.”
Limiting the number of trucks to 10 limits the potential for economic growth in the community, Fowler said, and expanding the program would provide more attractions for people to enjoy while spending a weekend on the Lake Simcoe shoreline.
Fowler suggested expanding the program would showcase the town’s innovative spirit, which put some extra money in the town coffers through business licensing fees and the like. Coun. Robert Saunders saw it as disrespectful to the restaurants already in town.
“This, I believe, is a very bad idea,” he said. "If food trucks are allowed in greater numbers and allowed greater freedom of mobility, the minute one sets up shop in front of an established restaurant, that owner will begin to inundate council with phone calls."
Saunders wouldn’t exclude himself from that cohort, either, as owner of the Cove Café.
Coun. Fred Drodge tended to agree.
“We need to be respectful of the businesses that are in place right now because I know of a few of them that actually are struggling, even though we have all these people coming into our town and enjoying all our beaches and lakefront,” Drodge said. “(The motion) needs to be more structured.”
The comments from Saunders took aim at wording found in the original notice of motion as supplied in the meeting agenda. By the time the item hit the floor the call for a report that “significantly increases” the number of food trucks in the community was replaced by a request to “review the refreshment trailer policies to ensure they continue to be reflective of, and conducive to, the growing business community within Innisfil.”
That was further refined through the debate on the motion, with help from town staff.
“We are going through the economic development strategy right now, so it’s probably an appropriate time that it be incorporated within that process, which would allow the business owners to have the comments, as well as others,” said Andria Leigh, director of planning and growth.
Coun. Alex Waters and Mayor Lynn Dollin both spoke in favour of at least undertaking a review of the bylaw as is.
Dollin remains the only member of council who was serving at the time the initial bylaw was passed. She remembered the reaction from the business community at the time, which sounded similar to Saunders’ predictions earlier in the discussion.
“The restaurants came out in droves not wanting food trucks, because the general consensus restaurant owners was, ‘we’re here in January, we’re here 12 months of the year, seven days a week; here comes a hot long weekend and all these food trucks come into town take the busy times,’” the mayor said.
Refreshing the bylaw in consultation with local businesses and other ratepayers would be the best approach, Dollin said. While that can come in part through the creation of a new economic development study, Leigh also said that any zoning-bylaw amendment would require a public meeting to gather feedback.
Fowler’s motion, as amended to refer the matter to the economic development strategic plan, carried.
