WHEREAS, food vending has become a popular mode of providing culturally-diverse and varied food options to the public; and

WHEREAS, food vending attracts foot traffic and pedestrian activity to commercial districts and creates a more vibrant retail business climate; and

WHEREAS, food vending can provide an affordable, entry-level business opportunity for budding entrepreneurs; and

WHEREAS, to date, because of cumbersome rules, food vehicles have been restricted to private property in Seattle, which has resulted in limited food vending options available to the public; and

WHEREAS, C.B. 117225 expands opportunities for food vending in the City's right-of-way by allowing food vehicles to park in street-side curb spaces and and modifying existing rules for vending carts in the right-of-way; and

WHEREAS, the Board of the Seattle-King County Public Health Department (SKCPH) passed a resolution in June 2011 to encourage SKCPH to allow a greater variety of foods to be offered by cart vendors; and

WHEREAS, the Seattle Department of Transportation will, when issuing permits for food carts and vehicles, consider whether the vending activity would block retail displays and business signage; and

WHEREAS, with the expansion of food vending opportunities in the City's right-of-way, illegal vending activity will not be tolerated and the Executive should effectively and robustly enforce the vending rules and regulations; and

WHEREAS, the City will need to conduct ongoing food vending monitoring and evaluation to assess vending impacts and to effectively and robustly enforce the vending rules and regulations; and

WHEREAS, the Executive will be required to collect data and report back to the City Council by August 31, 2012; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE, THE MAYOR CONCURRING, THAT:

Section 1. The City Council expects the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to address a variety of programmatic details in its Director's Rules, including, but not limited to the following:

a. Circumstances when SDOT would revoke or deny a permit renewal request;

b. When and how SDOT staff will mitigate potential visibility impacts on retail window displays and business signage;

c. Procedures for holding a lottery for food-vending locations;

d. City-wide design guidelines for food carts;

e. Details on how SDOT will measure the prescribed buffers from restaurants, building entrances, and schools;

f. Enforcement protocols, including when and how SDOT staff should work with the Seattle Police Department to confiscate food carts or trucks; and

g. Online posting of prospective food-vehicle zones or vending-cart locations during the public notification and comment period, including instructions on how the public may comment.

Section 2: SDOT, and other relevant Executive departments, shall collect data on the

following:

a. Number of new and renewed permits issued by type of food vehicle or cart;

b. Number of permits issued by neighborhood or distinct geographic areas;

c. Number of permits denied or revoked;

d. Amount of SDOT fees collected, and whether they are sufficient to cover related programmatic expenses;

e. Number of inspections conducted, broken out by day versus night;

f. Number of warnings and citations issued, and reasons for citations;

g. Disposition of citations paid in full or reduced by Hearing Examiner;

h. Number and type of complaints received, for example: mobility, parking, ADA access, visibility, and noise, and resolution of complaints;

i. Number of paid parking hours reserved by food vehicles;

j. Average amount of time required for SDOT to issue a permit;

k. Type of food served by general categories and broken out by vehicle and cart.

l. When and how lottery procedures were employed.

m. Stakeholder input.

Section 3: SDOT will compile and provide a written report to the City Council on the data collected in Section 2 no later than August 31, 2012.

Section 4: Prior to issuing a night-time food vending permit in neighborhoods with a relatively-high concentration of carts or trucks, SDOT staff should consult with the Code Compliance Team on any potential issues or conditions that should be applied to the permit.

Section 5: In addition to responding to complaints, SDOT should conduct random and unannounced inspections of food carts and vehicles during the day and night.

Section 6: SDOT should work in close coordination with Seattle-King County Department of Public Health staff to achieve a transparent and efficient food-vending permit process.

Section 7: The Executive should research and report back to the City Council by June 1, 2012 on measures the City could adopt to encourage healthy-food vending options.

Section 8: The Office of Economic Development should expand its website to include comprehensive information on food vending in Seattle. This information should include a list of all permits food vendors are required to obtain and contact information for each relevant agency or department, along with an overview of when and where food vendingis permitted in Seattle. The goal of the website is to provide one location where food vendors or the public may obtain or be linked to any and all information related to Seattle's food vending rules and regulations.

Adopted by the City Council the ____ day of ____________________, 2011, and

signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this________ day

of ______________________, 2011.

_________________________________

President ___________of the City Council

THE MAYOR CONCURRING:

_________________________________

Michael McGinn, Mayor

Filed by me this ____ day of ________________________, 2011.

____________________________________

Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk

(Seal)

Valles, C Legislative July 13, 2011 Version #3

Form last revised: May 5, 2011 4