Central Frontenac to look at chip trucks

Jeff Green | Sep 21, 2016

At the very end of the September 13 meeting of Central Frontenac Council, Councilor Cindy Kelsey put forward a notice of motion to discuss portable food trucks.

Recently, a food truck that had been open variously at two different locations on Highway 7 was shut down after a resident complained to the bylaw officer.

It turns out that the township's comprehensive zoning bylaw does not permit any food trucks within its borders. The bylaw, which was passed in 2011, includes “licensed refreshment sales vehicles” in its definitions, but in the rest of the document these kinds of establishments are not listed as permitted within any of the township's building zones.

There are at least two such establishments in permanent locations in the township, one on Highway 7 at Sharbot Lake and one on Road 38 at Godfrey and there is at least one other business that provides catering out of a truck.

South Frontenac has a provision for and permitting “licensed refreshment sales vehicles” in commercial zones within the township, under a set of criteria that includes separation distance from other food establishments. Central Frontenac may be looking at a similar provision in their own bylaw.

“That is my intention,” said Cindy Kelsey, when contacted this week, “to bring in an amendment to the bylaw so we can regulate and permit these kinds of businesses. Right now they are in limbo. Anyone can call a bylaw officer to shut them down, which is not fair, and they do not pay any fees, while restaurants pay property taxes, which is not fair either.”

Kelsey's notice of motion asked staff to prepare a report outlining how the township can proceed on the matter.