SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 1
CS&B COMMITTEE AGENDA
JUNE 1, 1995
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: May 16, 1995
TO: Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services,
in consultation with the Director of Legal Services
SUBJECT: Street Vending - Enforcement Procedures
RECOMMENDATION
A. THAT the revised street vending guidelines shown in
Appendix 1 be approved.
B. THAT, in addition to the City Engineer, the Chief
Constable and the Medical Health Officer be authorized
to remove unlawfully placed items from the City street
allowance when circumstances warrant, and in
consultation with the City Engineer.
C. THAT removal costs of items unlawfully placed on City
street allowance be charged to the owner. Cost to be
based on manpower and equipment required for removal:
1 person, no extra equipment $100.00 per
trip*
(truck or trailer, etc.)
2 people, with no extra equipment $200.00 per
trip*
Full crew, with extra equipment $300.00 per
trip*
* costs include police back-up when necessary
FURTHER THAT the holding time for confiscated
merchandise be reduced from three months to one month.
D. THAT the City Engineer be authorized to suspend vending
permits for up to 10 days to deal with unresolved
problems and to reduce administration time and costs.
E. THAT the City Engineer be authorized under the Street
Vending By-law to issue Special Event Market permits to
event organizers at a cost of $75.00 per block per day
(to a maximum of $300.00 per day) under the guidelines
attached as Appendix II. These will normally be
reviewed by the F.E.S.T. Committee.
F. THAT, when a special event market permit is not issued
but the event is deemed suitable for vending,
individual special event vending permits be issued at a
fee of $25.00 per day under the guidelines shown in
Appendix III and that the annual special events vending
permit be eliminated.
G. THAT the Director of Legal Services make the
appropriate By-law amendments to reflect B, C, D, E and
F above.
COUNCIL POLICY
Council created the street vending program, enacted in the street
vending by-law, to enliven the city streets, and to provide an
outlet for handcrafted goods and food items and to provide
control of ongoing illegal vending.
SUMMARY
Changes to existing enforcement procedures for the vending
program are proposed to streamline procedures to better control
illegal vending, eliminate duplication and overlap of services,
provide better service outside normal office hours, and reduce
administration. This report also recommends changes to the
renewal process in the street vending guidelines. These changes
reflect and safeguard the non-transferable aspect of vending
permits and Council's intention that vendors with permits play an
active role in the operation of their locations.
The process currently used for resolving problems and communica-
tions with business groups appears to work well and no changes
are recommended at this time.
PURPOSE
This report recommends changes to improve the street vending
program, including streamlined enforcement procedures and revised
guidelines to better deal with illegal vending and answer
concerns of merchant groups and individuals. The consultative
process among business groups, City departments and the Vancouver
Vending Association is also reviewed.
BACKGROUND
Recent changes to allow open cooking of hot dogs, the annual
renewal of licenses and to limit the total number of vending
locations have contributed to an increased demand for vending
permits.
On January 13, 1994, Council approved the following
recommendation:
" THAT the City Engineer, in consultation with all
interested parties, including the Chief Constable,
Down-town Vancouver BIA, Vancouver Vendors Association
and the Theatre Row Merchants, report back on the
monitoring and enforcement of illegal vendors; and
FURTHER THAT the above report back include the feasibi-
lity and cost of implementing a process similar to that
of the FEST Committee to provide consistent and regular
consultation with all affected parties on street
vending issues. "
There are many types of illegal vending. These include
individuals or companies selling food products, sunglasses, tee
shirts, second-hand items, novelties, etc., from trucks, cars,
bicycles, push carts, trailers, folding tables and blankets on
the ground. It can be a business displaying merchandise in front
of their store, a permitted vendor operating outside the
guidelines, someone selling cigarettes from a backpack, or an
organized neighbourhood flea market spreading onto the street or
lane.
Several City departments are involved in enforcement procedures
and who responds depends on the type of infraction, the time of
day and whether the vendor is located on private property or a
City street.
The Health Department deals with Health By-law infractions,
Permits & Licenses enforce private property vending through the
property owner, and the Police Department assist property owners
in removing unauthorized vendors from private property and issue
tickets to illegal vendors on City Streets. Engineering Services
deals with permitted vendors operating contrary to the
guidelines, as well as illegal vendors operating on City streets.
In recent years City Council has approved a number of changes
which have affected the vending program:
˜ permitted open flame hot dog vending;
˜ limited the number of available permits to 100 in
the Downtown peninsula (maximum 14 in Gastown) and
20 outside the downtown; and
˜ supported the rights of existing vendors by allowing
them to annually renew their permits.
These changes resulted in increased demand and reduced turnover
for vending locations in the program. This added pressure may be
a contributing factor to an increase in illegal vending.
DISCUSSION
There are several issues that have been reviewed in an effort to
streamline the process and improve the program.
Non-transferable Vending Permits
Increased demand and low turnover in the program appear to result
in an increased street value of vending permits. Staff have
encountered a number of problems during renewal times with
possibly forged signatures (renewal signature does not match the
original application), individuals claiming to be the permit
holder (but cannot or will not produce identification) in order
to renew the location and individuals wishing to renew on behalf
of a permit holder who lives in another city.
Staff request identification and personal involvement from the
permit holder. However, this is not part of the guidelines and
at times staff have difficulty requiring this.
Solution: Amend the street vending guidelines to require vendors
to submit applications and pick-up permits "in person"
and show valid photo identification.
Location of Vendors
The current guideline for approval of new vending applications
ensures a minimum distance of 200 feet from an existing business
selling a similar product. This guideline applies to fixed
address businesses on private property and does not apply to
other vendors who in many cases are within 200 feet of each
other. Recently there has been some confusion in this regard.
Solution: Amend the street vending guidelines to clearly allow
approval of vending locations within 200 feet of other
vending operations. This change would clarify existing
practise.
Impoundment
Under the Street and Traffic By-law the City Engineer has sole
authority to remove vended merchandise not lawfully on a city
street. Therefore, the Police, Health and Permits and Licenses
Departments call for assistance when other enforcement action has
not yielded the desired results. Due to limited staff resources,
assistance is not always available, particularly after office
hours and on weekends. This often results in a delay of up to
one week if the problem only occurs on the weekend. Staff must
then organize an overtime shift requiring the presence of
involved departments to deal with a problem.
Solution: Permit the Chief Constable and Medical Health Officer,
in consultation with the City Engineer, to impound
unlaw-fully placed items. This would reduce the staff
require-ments for enforcement. Engineering staff would
continue the administration related to storage, return
or disposal of the items.
Illegal hot dog vending has increased and this raises another
problem. The kiosks are heavy and cannot be easily removed.
Staff have encountered several situations where merchandise was
removed from uncooperative vendors, only to find the vendors back
in operation within an hour. Staff then resorted to removing the
propane tanks from the units and again found the vendor reopened
at a new location within a short time. Apparently most vendors
store additional product and spare tanks in a vehicle nearby.
Solution: Impound the entire unit. Arrangements have been made
with Unitow to provide this service on a call-out basis
as an extension of their existing city contract.
Removal Cost Recovery
Section 66.3 of the Street and Traffic By-law allows the City
Engineer to remove merchandise illegally offered for sale on
street. Under the by-law the owner may recover the merchandise
upon payment of costs incurred by the City. However, no
provision is made to cover costs when the owner chooses not to
recover the merchandise.
This does not happen often, however, occasionally staff encounter
an uncooperative operator displaying merchandise of little or no
value (items donated or retrieved from dumpsters). In these
cases staff are faced with removing the merchandise, storing it
for 3 months and disposing of it. If there appears to be any
value attached to the item, it is sent to the City auction; if
not, disposal is appropriate. In these situations, no costs are
recovered and the operators are generally undeterred. At least
one operator has viewed this action as a benefit in terms of free
refuse disposal.
The following shows average costs incurred based on the number of
staff and type of equipment required:
Requirements Costs
1 staff no extra equipment $100.00
(truck or trailer, etc.)
2 staff with extra equipment $200.00
full crew with extra equipment $300.00
These costs are estimated per trip and include: removal, storage,
administration, return or disposal and Police back up and
assistance when required.
Solution: Amend the appropriate by-law(s) to allow removal costs
as shown above to be charged to the owner and to reduce
the holding time for confiscated merchandise from 3
months to 1 month.
Suspension of Permits
Most permitted vendors operate within the guidelines and show
good cooperation, however, occasionally problems arise. The most
common complaints concern: the sale of unapproved merchandise,
relocation of vending kiosks after hours and additional display
areas or extra furniture or other objects around the site. These
problems are currently dealt with by requesting cooperation and
issuing warn-ings. This often results in compliance, especially
during working hours, however, it can be less effective in the
evenings and on weekends.
The by-law allows for a process of suspension for up to 30 days
and report to Council. To date staff have managed to avoid
taking this action which is seen as cumbersome and time
consuming.
Solution: Suspend, for cause, vending permits for up to 10 days.
This action could be taken on a sliding scale, a
warning or 1 day suspension for a minor offense and up
to 10 days for repeated serious infractions. If the
situation still cannot be resolved, the permit could be
cancelled for cause. The vendor would have the right
to appeal this decision to Council.
Special Event Vending
Special Event Vending is currently handled in one of two ways:
a) Large events, such as Symphony of Fire and the PNE parade,
may be issued a Public Street Market License (PSML). The
approval for this license is given through Council approval
of the special event calendar and F.E.S.T. Committee
approval of the event details. This license is issued only
to the event organizer at a cost of $280.00 per day and
gives the right to, and control over, vending within the
defined area.
The system works well for large events, where organizers can
recoup their costs by charging individual vendors a fee to
participate in the event. However, small local community
events often find the $280.00 fee restrictive.
b) In cases where the organizer does not wish to purchase a
Public Street Market License but is agreeable to having
vendors participate in the event, the City may issue one-day
Special Event Permits to interested vendors at a cost of
$5.00 per day or $50.00 per year.
There has been little demand for this type of permit in the
last few years (only one annual Special Event permit was
issued in 1994). Most event organizers prefer to obtain a
Public Street Market License or to have no vending at all.
In cases where these permits are issued, the $5.00 per day
or $50.00 per year fee does not cover administration and
enforcement costs.
Solution: Create a "Special Event Market Permit" (SEMP) with the
City Engineer as the issuing authority. This would
streamline the process, reduce administration and bring
all types of street vending under the street vending
by-law.
The "Public Street Market License" could remain under
the license by-law to accommodate other types of market
situations administered by the Permits & Licenses
Department.
A fee structure of $75.00 per block per day to a
maximum of $300.00 per day is recommended. This would
take into account the wide variety in scale of events
held in the city and make the opportunity to include
vending more accessible to small community events.
Where individual daily special event permits are
issued, a fee of $25.00 per day would more closely
reflect the administration costs involved (examples are
charity fund raisers and block parties).
It is recommended that the annual special events permit
be eliminated. There is only one vendor (a balloon and
novelty vendor) that holds this permit and he could be
allowed to renew.
Liaison with the Business Community and
the Vancouver Vending Association
City staff meet regularly with the various business groups to
discuss their concerns, including the street vending program.
This includes the Downtown Vancouver, Gastown and Robson Street
BIAs among others. The Vancouver Vending Association (VVA) is
contacted whenever changes are considered. The dialogue is
valuable and from it we have resolved problems. An example is
the changes to vending in Gastown that have been well received by
this area.
In the Robson Street and Downtown areas there are still some
problems regarding illegal vending. Both the RSBIA and the DVBIA
support the recommendations.
This report was discussed with various members of the VVA. They
recognize the need for proper enforcement to ensure the
guidelines and vending program work successfully.
Staff will continue to meet with business organizations and the
VVA on an ongoing basis to ensure the program is operating as
intended. This will include review through the F.E.S.T.
Committee for larger special events. The changes made to the
vending program in Gastown in 1993 were the result of a series of
meetings between staff, the Gastown Business Improvement Society
and the VVA. More recently, discussions were held with the DVBIA
and the RSBIA regarding suggested enforcement procedures, some of
which are discussed in this report. This process works well and
therefore no other changes are recommended.
* * * * *
APPENDIX I
Page 1 of 2
CITY OF VANCOUVER
STREET VENDING APPLICATION/APPROVAL PROCEDURE
1) Renewal applications and fees must be submitted in person before 12:00
noon on the last business day of January. No renewal applications will
be considered if the applications do not conform with these regulations.
2) Locations that have not been renewed will be posted for public view and
application on the second Monday in February. Applications will be
accepted until 5:30 p.m. on the last business day in February at the
Parking and Street Activities Branch on the 7th Floor of City Hall.
3) Each applicant may apply for a maximum of 3 locations including
renewals, only one of which may be in Gastown.
4) The applicant must submit in person a completed application form and a
$50.00 non-refundable application fee for each location. Faxed
applications will not be accepted, nor will applications by any person
other than the named applicant.
5) The City Engineer permits food products, approved by the Vancouver
Health Department, and handcrafted products to be sold. Artists, face
painters, balloon sculptors, basket weavers and palm readers are also
permitted. It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure their product
is approvable prior to application.
6) It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the location(s)
applied for are not within 60m (200') of the entrance to a fixed address
business selling a similar product. A fixed address business means any
business which is not a street vendor. This regulation does not apply
to special event vending or special event vendors (e.g., street
markets).
7) Locations with only 1 applicant will be awarded early in March, provided
all conditions in the Street Vending Guidelines have been met.
8) Locations which have more than one applicant will be awarded by lottery
selection on the 3rd Monday in March. Applicants may be present to
witness the draw and all applicants will be notified of the resulting
status of their application(s). Appendix I
Page 2 of 2
9) Applicants selected will be considered for approval of location and the
product.
10) Kiosks must be constructed with the consultation and approval of the
Engineering Department and, where appropriate, the Health Department.
11) The applicant must obtain insurance in accordance with the "Street
Vending Insurance Information" handout.
12) If food is to be sold a health permit must be obtained. The health
permit must be obtained by the applicant before a street vending permit
will be issued.
13) The applicant must pay the balance of the permit fee before the permit
will be issued.
14) The applicant must attend in person, show valid photo identification and
pick up the street vending permit.
Street Vending Permit Fees:
Application Fee Balance
Dry Goods $50 + $400 = $450
Food $50 + $550 = $600
* * * * *
JANUARY 1995
APPENDIX II
Page 1 of 1
SPECIAL EVENT MARKET PERMITS - GUIDELINES
The City Engineer will determine requirements for each application.
These include but are not limited to:
˜ area to be controlled
˜ number of vendors permitted
˜ location of vendors
˜ amount of sidewalk to be maintained
˜ identification for vendors
˜ appropriate insurance
˜ appropriate health permits for food vendors.
* * * * *
APPENDIX III
Page 1 of 1
GUIDELINES FOR INDIVIDUAL SPECIAL EVENTS PERMITS
A limited number of permits will be issued when:
˜ No Special Event market permit has been issued.
˜ The event has been approved and considered appropriate for vending by
the FEST Committee or Special Events Coordinator in consultation with
the event organizer.
˜ Food vendors hold a valid Health Services permit.
˜ The vendor or event organizer shows proof of adequate liability
insurance to the satisfaction of the Director of Risk Management.
The number of permits issued will be determined by the Special Events Co-
ordinator based on the size and nature of the event, pedestrian volumes and
physical constraints of the area.
* * * * *
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