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WEST BLOOMFIELD — At a West Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees meeting Dec. 18, board members unanimously approved a mobile food vending ordinance amendment.
During the spring and summer, food trucks can be a common sight in the township, and from the perspective of Township Supervisor Steven Kaplan, the board’s decision was an attempt to make things easier for food truck operators to conduct business in West Bloomfield.
Kaplan stated that a $2,000 performance bond that was in effect in earlier years, including 2023, has been reduced to $500.
Vendors are also required to pay a licensing permit fee of $200. According to Kaplan, that fee has already been in effect for ice cream vendors, and it now also applies to mobile food vendors.
Kaplan explained what led to the ordinance change.
“We had received concern from the food truck operators that the bond was somewhat cost prohibitive,” he said. “Let’s say there’s a company in downtown Detroit, like a Greektown restaurant, and they have a food truck. They can absorb that bond easily. But what we’re referring to, husband and wife, maybe they own a truck and sell Mexican food. For them, that bond (amount) is important.”
Becky Collins is the owner of Vedged Out. She has operated a food truck at various events in the township, including Food Truck Tuesdays and the Marshbank Music Series.
She is a proponent of the township taking a step toward reducing costs for business owners.
“That’s great news for small business,” Collins said. “Small business helps our communities a whole lot more, obviously, than chains, box stores, retailers and that kind of a thing. It’s nice to see a community making a change like that.”
At the board meeting, Alana Knox, who is the township’s general counsel, spoke about the ordinance change.
“The amendment is just to clean up two items that were in the ordinance,” she said. “One to lower the amount of the performance bond, to be more copacetic with surrounding communities for food trucks, and the second was to remove a provision that was (a) holdover from the ice cream truck ordinance, which required notification to schools. We had to tell the schools who the licensees were. That was considered unnecessary, so we’re removing that as well.”
The requirements of mobile food vendors are spelled out in the ordinance and include agreeing to written authorization to have a background check conducted, which includes the applicant’s driving and criminal history, a copy of the food service license issued by Oakland County, proof of inspection from the township fire inspector, and proof of $500,000 general liability insurance.
“The township conducts a review of the food providers, as well as their drivers and employees,” Kaplan stated in an email. “The public is protected by the township’s scrutiny of the workers’ criminal records, if any, and whether the providers have been certified and approved both by the county health department and the township’s fire marshal.”
Food trucks can be quite the hit with some community members.
“That opportunity is one appreciated by residents,” Kaplan said. “It galvanizes interest in the township and makes the township more lively to visit and to live.”
Given that Food Truck Tuesdays are held on township grounds, Kaplan has had ample opportunity to see how popular food trucks can be when they roll into town.
“Including the library and parks commission, there are approximately 120 employees in a given day at Town Hall,” he said. “Not all of them experience the food truck, but many do, and they look forward to it. Tuesday’s the day, and the fact that we have varied offerings for the food trucks enhances interest. … We have people talking about it.”
Last year, Food Truck Tuesdays were scheduled for 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the spring, summer and fall, and they included different options on different days, with more than a dozen businesses participating.
Kaplan said that the companies that participate are “bona fide” and vetted by the township.
He shared his perspective as to what is important for residents to know.
“There’s no report through the Oakland County Health Department of contaminated food or equipment that is unsanitary,” Kaplan said. “They can be assured the food will be of good quality. Many of the food truck operators might also have a business. They might have a restaurant in Detroit or Farmington Hills, but they’re trying to expand by way of offering food truck services.”
