Sylvan Lake council passes mobile vending bylaw

Sylvan Lake Town council passed the Mobile Vending Busking Bylaw during the council meeting on March 27.

Recreation, Culture, Tourism and Economic Development Director Monique Pummings told Sylvan Lake News in order to form the bylaw feedback was taken from vendors over the last year on what worked well and what didn’t.

“We are working on creating more opportunities for the community to have access and more opportunities for vendors to be creative and provide additional services to both residents and visitors. The changes to the bylaw will allow for more flexibility and creative business deals which should positively impact both the community and vendors.”

The primary changes in the bylaw were to remove Food Truck Thursday, removing the requirement that mobile vendors had to operate their unit for at least 90 days during their permit’s duration and removing the use of specific zones for mobile vending locations to allow for more flexibility. They bylaw now allows the sale of potted plants under the flower vendor category.

While multiple changes have been made the approval process will remain the same, Pummings said.

“Potential vendors are still required to complete an application, provide their insurance certificate along with all health and safety regulations depending on the type of unit they were be operating out of. In addition, they need to provide proof of their Town of Sylvan Lake business license, photos and specifications of their proposed mobile vending unit along with the dimensions, location and photos of any proposed signage.”

Town staff also proposed a Tourism Experience Development Incubator (TEDI) program which is a program to help vendors test their proof of concept and support them in eventually setting up permanent businesses elsewhere in town, Pummings said.

“The intent of this program is to create experiences and experiential tourism products to contribute to Sylvan Lake’s unique tourism offering. We will be working with current seasonal vendors and will start transitioning over to the TEDI program in 2024.”

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