COEUR d'ALENE — After almost two years of preparation, the city of Coeur d'Alene has created proposed code changes that will regulate how mobile vendors such as food trucks operate within city limits.

In February of 2014, members of the city council directed city personnel to begin drafting regulations regarding mobile sales on private property, which municipal director Renata McLeod said required staff to do an internal review of which departments would be impacted by new regulations, as well as perform a great deal of outreach to a variety of individuals and businesses who have a stake in how things panned out. Although it was a process that required the city to find a balance between a variety of opinions before the first draft was presented to the General Services Committee Monday, McLeod said the task was accomplished by staying focused on maintaining a level playing field and ensuring the public is safe.

"We just kept going back to 'What are the reasons why we are regulating this?'" McLeod said. "It's to ensure the gray water isn't going anywhere nasty, it's to ensure the propane tanks don't explode while customers or employees are there — those kinds of safety concerns that are the city's responsibility."

In addition, McLeod said the regulations were about creating a level playing field for restaurateurs with brick and mortar establishments and their mobile counterparts. Restaurants in Coeur d'Alene, she said, pay a fee to have outdoor seating during the summer. But, mobile vendors who are staying at the same sites for longer than what the city would deem "temporary" are not paying a similar fee.

"So the restaurants were asking if the mobile vendors were paying their fair share," McLeod said.

Under the new code, mobile vendors who meet city guidelines will be issued one of four types of permits — mobile food, mobile food cart, non-mobile food, and mobile retail. Among the guidelines mobile vendors must comply with are having trash containers, being in compliance with sign codes, disposing wastewater through cleanout on site, and passing a fire inspection.

McLeod said city staff felt they were ready to present the proposed additions to city code about nine months ago. However, the topic of more than two food trucks congregating at a permanent, privately owned location came up and required the city to draft policy strictly pertaining to food courts.

"It's not a new concept, we thought about it at the beginning, there was just no one stepping up at the time that was interested in it," she said.

The most important aspect of the food court code, McLeod said, was clarifying that the property owners have to accept certain responsibilities. Should a property owner wish to create a food court, they will have to apply for permits through the city and go through project review hearings to ensure their plans are in compliance with city codes pertaining to commercial zones.

"It's a really clear differentiation," McLeod added. "If the property owner gets through the process they will be issues a license and have an annual fire inspection each year."

The draft code was supplemented with a proposed fee schedule, which McLeod said must be approved by the city council following a public hearing. To come up with the fee schedule, McLeod said city personnel looked at how many staff hours would be involved in the acceptance, review and issuance of the permits.

The draft fee schedule is as follows: • Mobile Vendor Permit — $230 for the first year or for a new location • Mobile Vendor Annual Renewal — $50 • Food Court License — $100 for the first year • Food Court Annual Renewal — $50

"The idea here is really to cover our cost; we're not trying to supplement this project," McLeod said.

Any mobile vendors who wish to park on city-owned property, according to McLeod, will still have to go through the traditional, competitive bidding process with the city.

The draft code changes were approved by the general services committee, and McLeod said the matter will now go before the entire city council during its regular meeting on Nov. 15. During the meeting, McLeod said the council can vote to approve the code as written, or direct staff to make edits.

A public hearing, she added, will be scheduled at a later date to vote on the proposed fee schedule.