Street Vendor Ordinance now in place

Elkins City Council unanimously passed an ordinance during Thursday’s Elkins City Council meeting that will allow for street vendors within city limits.

According to City of Elkins Ordinance 264, street vendors – any person except itinerant vendors, who engages in or conducts, either as principal or agent, a business selling goods, wares, merchandise, food, confectionary or drink upon any street, sidewalk, or public park, including food trucks, will be permitted.

However, there are exceptions: vendors may only conduct business between six a.m. and 11 p.m.; no vendors may block pedestrian passageways; vendors must remove merchandise at the end of the sales day; no vendor set-up may consume more than three feet in width and eight feet in depth or more than two parking spaces; and no street vending is permitted on Davis Avenue between Second and Fifth Streets.

There are three classifications of vendors: Class A includes all non-food items, such as clothing, arts, crafts, flowers and miscellaneous items that are not food products; Class B covers all food products that do not require cooking, such as whole fruits, vegetables, and non-perishable food items that are pre-packaged by the manufacturer; and Class C is all food products that require cooking, heating, or a health permit. Vendors may also be required to meet additional requirements, depending upon their classification and location.

“It became apparent over the past few years that the food truck and street vendor industry had reached Elkins. I was receiving an increasing amount of inquiries about how and where vendors could operate, and in reviewing our City Code found it didn’t effectively address these questions,” Elkins City Clerk Jessica Sutton said.  “The Rules and Ordinances Committee, with the help of the City Attorney, Administrative Officers and local vendors, developed an ordinance they feel will both protect and encourage this growing entrepreneurial enterprise.”

Applications, as well as all the rules and regulations, are available at Elkins City Hall, 401 Davis Ave., and on the City’s website.