GRANTS PASS, Ore. – A couple Ordinances of Grants Pass City Council change regulations for solicitor/peddler, mobile vending, and temporary merchant licensing and establish mobile vending zones for use by mobile vending vehicles.

In the last six months, there has been an increase in mobile food vendors.

City staff claims the current standards are not enough for adequate regulation of the rising number of vendors.

Carla Angeli Paladino, Grants Pass Principal Planner, says the city “had an old peddlers ordinance that basically allows people to vend from the street.  It was outdated and [...] [they] interpretted it to mean that people could vend from the street, but it just wasn’t working, so [they] came up with something new.”

One ordinance amends Chapter 4.08 of the Grants Pass Municipal Code relating to solicitor/peddler, mobile vending and temporary merchant licenses.

It has been in the works for months and goes into effect Jan. 1.

The second Ordinance amends Ordinance 5563 and establishes on-and-off-public-street locations for the sale of ready-to-eat food from mobile vending cars.

The zoning goes into effect Jan. 4.

Paladino says during Wednesday’s City Council meeting, advocates of the zoning Ordinance “were recommending some on-street zones for food trucks and four streets were identified and approved.”

Mill Street, E Street, F Street, and Ramsey Avenue were all approved as locations for mobile food trucks.

Part of the Growers Market parking lot will be used Monday through Friday for food vendors.

Overall, Paladino says the city wants to make sure regulations are up to date without hurting businesses. “We wanted to make sure that it worked for the vendors that wanted to be here and not hurt the brick and mortar.”

The vending zones only allow trucks.

Vendors selling on private properties will not be affected by the zoning.

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 GRANTS PASS — Mobile food vendors will not be able to operate on any Grants Pass sidewalks under an ordinance approved by the City Council last week.

The ordinance does establish on-street food vending zones and sets aside a portion of the city-owned parking lot behind the downtown post office where the Growers’ Market operates on Saturdays on a seasonal basis.

Vendors will no longer be allowed to park curbside along Sixth Street in downtown, which has been one of the most popular locations. The new regulations do not affect vendors parked on private property.

The new rules go into effect in 30 days.

The on-street food vending zones will be:

• The west side of Mill Street, between J Street and the driveway to Masterbrand Cabinets
• E Street between Ninth and Mill streets
• F Street between Ninth and Mill streets
• Ramsey Avenue between Nebraska and Union avenues, only where parking is allowed

In addition, about one-eighth of the city parking lot used by the Growers’ Market on Saturdays would be available Monday through Friday.

Casting the votes were Council President Lily Morgan and councilors Darin Fowler, Jim Williams, Rick Riker, Dennis Webber and Woodburn. Councilors Dan DeYoung and Richard Michelon were absent.

Webber argued in favor of keeping a sidewalk zone and contended that a business operating in an alley could reduce crime and the number of undesirable people in the area.

He voted against the first reading of the ordinance. However, he voted for both the second reading and the ultimate passage.

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