MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - At the Township Board meeting on October 20th the discussion of mobile food units was continued.

This was a topic of conversation during the Township Board meeting held on September 15 however, the Board requested that staff draft new non-zoning regulations in Chapter 38 of the Code of Ordinances for mobile food units before anything else was discussed.

The draft ordinance requires mobile food vending businesses to apply for a license and it also establishes standards for operation.

In terms of a permit to accommodate these mobile businesses, it was suggested that one option could be 120 days, which is the approval period in the Vendors ordinance. Other considerations could be 30, 60, or 90 days. However, when the license expires the operator would be required to renew the license or cease vending all together.

"There's actually a benefit to having a shorter license period so that there's actually a lower cost involved and allow them to quickly maneuver and make it easy to renew. So I would actually think 120 days is a little too long and that it should be a shorter license but with a very easy renewable process," mentioned Township Clerk Brett Dreyfus.

Dreyfus stated during the meeting that he feels 90 or even 60 days for a license would be adequate for that mobile food unit to "test out" their business.

"The idea of a mobile food unit is that it's actually able to move around to different parts giving that same truck the opportunity to have access to different customer base," Dreyfus stated.

Fees that these mobile food businesses would owe were also of discussion among the Board.

"I don't see a problem with charging more than the $750 because I think that it is a business opportunity and I don't think that an entrepreneur is going to be priced out in a lucrative market if they have to pay $1,000," Dreyfus mentioned.

The Board went back and forth on these topics of conversation regarding the mobile food units and provided a lot of positive suggestions for the applicant.

Eventually a decision was reached to bring this back into discussion at a future meeting and hopefully move it to action from there.