Chair Mike Schell presided and called the meeting to order at 4:00pm on Wednesday, June 10th, 2020. Committee Members present: Jim Wright, Bill Carlblom, Jeff Erickson, Bobby Koepplin, and Dave Carlsrud. Joe Faure was absent.
Others: City Building Inspector Dave Andersen, City Assessor/Acting Secretary Sandy Hansen, City Attorney Carl Martineck, and City Administrator Gwen Crawford.
Jim Wright moved to approve the Minutes of the May 13th meeting, seconded by Bill Carlblom, followed by roll call and approval.
Public Hearing for the Purpose of Considering an Amendment to Section 11-05-18 of the Valley City Municipal Code which affects temporary uses such as mobile vendors.
Chair Mike Schell opened the public hearing. With no public comment, Carlblom moved to close the public hearing with Wright second and board approval. Internal discussion began. Building Inspector Dave Andersen clarified that at this time, no permits are issued for mobile vendors. Forms would need to be created and reasonable time allowed for backgrounds checks of applicants. He suggested forms be allowed to be mailed or by electronic applications. Andersen also pointed out vendors need a place nearby for employees to be able to take restroom breaks. Continued discussion focused on how long a mobile vendor should be allowed to be in one spot and what type of time frame and fee should be on applications. When the question came up as to why the board was considering this, Dave Carlsrud said he hoped it would ‘level the playing field’ since local restaurants & businesses pay property & sales taxes thus investing in the community. He added the city deals with complaints regarding mobile vendors every year and required applications would allow for some control and/or restrictions. City Attorney Carl Martineck added that it would also make it a way to ensure that vendors are following through with required health department licenses, paying sale taxes, etc. After more discussion, Bobby Koepplin made a motion that all fees be set by the City Commission (Section 11-05-08(3) – consider changing responsibility for setting fee from Planning Commission to City Commission), seconded by Jim Wright and board approval. Wright made a motion that revocation of permits NOT be done by Planning & Zoning – those who issue the permit can revoke the permit, and the appeal process will go to City Commission (Section 11-05-08(7)(b) – consider changing permit denial review from Planning Commission to City Commission), seconded by Koepplin and board approval. Carlsrud made a motion that time frames also be set by the City Commission as they have more resources to determine what those should be, and also that electronic communication be allowed (Section 8-08-04(4) – consider specific time instead of ‘reasonable time.” Consider allowing denial to be provided by any means of written communication rather that US mail only. Also Section 11-05-08(10) – review definition of Mobile food truck for clarity; consider 10 day maximum for food trucks), seconded by Wright and board approval.
Building/Fire Inspector Dave Andersen’s Report
Andersen reported a busy week. Love’s Travel Center will soon begin construction, and both the new County Jail and the VCSU Art Center were given permits to begin concrete work on their projects. Wright asked that those with the VCSU project be reminded to use the ‘feeder’ road – 4th Ave – to avoid damage to other roads not prepared for heavy truck traffic. An outside company was looking at property within city limits for firework storage and Andersen is looking into the ramifications of that request.
Adjourn – With no other items to discuss, Chair Schell called for the meeting to close at 4:59pm.
Submitted by: City Assessor Sandy Hansen, Acting Secretary