Six-month moratorium proposed on licensing
The Cold Spring Village Board has scheduled a public hearing for July 9 for feedback on a proposed six-month moratorium on allowing food trucks within the village.
The moratorium is intended to give the village time to develop regulations regarding the licensing, operation and location of food trucks on public and private property.
At its April 23 meeting, the board had discussed a request to operate a food truck on private property near the entrance to Dockside Park, an area zoned residential. Mayor Kathleen Foley said Chapter 71 of the Village Code offers guidance on licensing but is not specific to food trucks and does not address private property requests, leaving the board “ill-prepared” to license such operations.
The proposed local law establishing the moratorium, drafted by village attorney John Furst, points out that while food trucks have become popular since the pandemic and provide business opportunities within the village, issues such as traffic, parking, waste, noise and pedestrian safety must be addressed.
In other business …
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The Village Board met on Friday (June 20) after failing to have enough of the five board members able to attend the regularly scheduled Wednesday meeting in person. State law allows up to two trustees to attend meetings remotely if three attend in person. Foley and trustees Tweeps Phillips Woods and Laura Bozzi attended Friday’s session at Village Hall but Trustees Eliza Starbuck and Aaron Freimark were absent. Foley said that Friday afternoon was the only time that week at least three board members were available.
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The board accepted in principle a policy in which employees can donate accrued paid time off to other employees who require leave for medical emergencies. The proposed policy, drafted by the village attorney, provides a way for village employees to help co-workers who would otherwise suffer a substantial loss of income resulting from unpaid leave. The policy does not entitle employees to take additional leave. “There are still some fine-tuned elements to work out,” Foley said. “I’d like to recognize the generosity of the staff who are willing to give the time,” Phillips Woods said. “It’s a great policy.”
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As in previous years, the village office will close at 3 p.m. on Fridays during the summer.
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The board approved hiring Jennifer Owen as a records clerk intern for 10 weeks for $20 per hour.
I am not in favor of the imposition of a food truck at Dockside. Such a truck would only add to congestion, and to the overflowing garbage pails and noise and exhaust quotient that are already compromising quality of life at Dockside to an unsatisfactory degree. Next will be picnic tables besotting the promenade to accommodate food truck customers. If the Village is serious about quality of life issues and congestion, it will keep the trucks out of the lower village.
Several regulations in the Village Code Chapter 71 address outdoor peddling and vending, such as food trucks and other seasonal businesses. Notably, at the end of Chapter 71 that covers licensing, it states:
§ 71-16. Restricted Locations. [Added 5-9-95 by L.L. 95-6], [Amended 7-20-21 by L.L.13-2021]
“The following locations are not available for the activities licensed under this Chapter: West Street, Both Sides, Entire Street”
Chapter 71-11, Prohibited Activities, also states:
“C. To Peddle within a radius of two hundred (200) feet of any public market or store engaged in the business of selling the same or similar Goods, wares, and merchandise offered by said Peddler.
D. To sell, vend or offer for sale any wares, foodstuffs or merchandise upon the grounds or in and about the facilities of any public recreation center or park.”
If the Village Board needs guidance about food trucks, all they have to do is read the Village Code. No need for public hearings. Unless the mayor and trustees want to go through the whole process of amending Village Code for one licensing request, especially changing a provision that’s been on the books for 30 years, a hard no from the VBOT is required. The proposed food truck should find another spot to set up.
Yes, Lynn, you are correct again! I mentioned there was existing code for food trucks to the mayor in a meeting the other week when we began discussing this, citing the food truck permits the village had discussed and issued during the time you were on the board. Thank you for citing the exact code; perhaps we can just use the existing code instead of rewriting it every time we receive a rare and unusual request.
Starbuck is a member of the Cold Spring Village Board.
I do hope that the Trustee Emerita and the standing Trustee will bring their comments to the public hearing where they can be more fully discussed. I’m well aware of the references to “peddling and soliciting” in Chapter 71. Trustee Starbuck, in our first discussion with the Village Attorney we referenced chapter 71, and you certainly could have read it in full at any point. The chapter is broad, and in the attorney’s review, insufficient in relation to food trucks–there are prohibitions on broad vending concerns, but no discussion, for example, of food trucks in particular zones, or time limits. A recent application was for a single food vendor to locate on a residentially-zoned lot, five days a week, 11am to 7pm. Perhaps the public will provide different feedback, but this strikes me and the majority of the Trustees as a tricky precedent on a residential parcel. That particular parcel may seem a great candidate down by the waterfront (I note, at the end of West Street), but do neighbors want food trucks on residential lots in other areas of the Village? Once precedent is set, it’s hard to walk back. Hence the proposed moratorium to hammer out reasonable regulations. There are plenty of examples from across New York State to be guided by.
I will note that notwithstanding the existing chapter 71 and its broad guidance, previous iterations of the Board of Trustees have denied requests for food trucks for reasons such as protecting Village restaurants (one can review public discussions on the Village’s YouTube channel). Controlling competition in markets is not the job of Village government. I believe that the full board wants to be able to appropriately say yes to food trucks — residents and visitors alike enjoy them and the food variety they bring to the Village. However, we need to be sure that that we are using appropriate criteria to review requests, and that we are properly mitigating potential impacts on neighbors. Moreover, there have been changes to State law regarding food trucks since Chapter 71 was last updated. It’s important to keep up with developing enabling legislation and state regulations.
I encourage those concerned to attend and participate in the public hearing for the moratorium on July 9th, and to provide constructive feedback on how, going forward, we appropriately regulate food trucks.