[Ord. 28, 8/9/1954; as revised by Ord. 356, 12/17/1986; and
amended by Ord. 412, 10/14/1992, § 1; and by Ord. No. 599, 5/11/2022]
A.
FOOD ESTABLISHMENT
FOOD PRODUCTS
HEALTH OFFICER
LEGAL HOLIDAY
MOBILE FOOD COMMISSARY
MOBILE FOOD PREPARER
MOBILE FOOD TRUCK
MOBILE FOOD VEHICLE
PERSON
PUBLIC PROPERTY
RESTAURANT
TRANSIENT RETAIL BUSINESS
(1)
(2)
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning
indicated, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
Business operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves,
vends or otherwise provides food for human consumption as set forth
in the Food Code issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture,
7 Pa. Code § 46.1 et seq., as amended from time to time.
Includes and shall be limited to such foods intended for
immediate consumption following sale without threat or danger to public
health.
The Health Officer shall be the County of Bucks.
New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor
Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas.
A licensed food establishment in which food, containers,
or supplies are stored, kept, handled, prepared and packaged and directly
from which mobile food vehicle operations are serviced and where mobile
food trucks report to for all food and supplies for all cleaning and
sanitizing of units and equipment.
Any person who, by traveling from place to place upon the
public streets of the Township, prepares and serves food from a mobile
food truck.
A mobile food truck is a transient retail business.
A food establishment that is located on a minimum four-wheeled
self-contained motorized vehicle where food or beverage is cooked
and/or prepared and served for individual portion service, such as
a mobile food kitchen. Food establishments that are not self-contained
and must be pulled by another vehicle are not considered a mobile
food vehicle.
Any natural person, partnership, association, corporation
or other legal entity.
The public right-of-way, Township-owned property and the
Lower Southampton Township established right-of-way, including sidewalks.
Any public place at a fixed location kept, used, maintained,
advertised and held out to the public as a place where food and drink
is prepared and served for the public for consumption on or off the
premise pursuant to the required licenses of Lower Southampton Township
and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Such establishments may include,
but are not limited to, restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, cafeterias,
dining rooms, eating houses, short-order cafes, luncheonettes, grills,
pubs, tea rooms and sandwich shops.
Engaging in peddling, soliciting or taking orders, either by
sample or otherwise, for any goods, wares or merchandise upon any
street, alley, sidewalk or public ground, or from house to house within
Lower Southampton Township.
Selling, soliciting or taking orders for any goods, wares or
merchandise from a fixed location with the Township on a temporary
basis, which shall include, but not be limited to, such activities
conducted at the time of special occasions or celebrations, for seasonal
purposes or for yearly holidays.
B.
The singular shall include the plural, the plural shall include the
singular, and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
[Ord. 28, 8/9/1954; as revised by Ord. 356, 12/17/1986; and
as amended by Ord 381, 7/19/1989; and by Ord. No.
599, 5/11/2022]
No person shall engage in any transient retail business within
the Township without first having obtained from the Zoning Department
a license for each location from which sales will be conducted; a
fee in an amount as established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors
shall be paid.
[Ord. No. 599, 5/11/2022[1]]
A.
Scope.
(1)
The provisions of § 13-103 shall apply to mobile food operations engaged in the business of cooking, preparing and distributing food or beverage with or without charge from mobile food trucks on or in public, private or restricted spaces.
(2)
This section shall not apply to canteen, coffee, or ice cream trucks that move from place to place and are stationary in the same location for no more than 30 minutes at a time or food vending push carts and stands which are governed under other sections of Chapter 13. Further, this section does not apply to private parties where the food truck is parked and servicing a private property.
B.
Mobile food truck health license and permit required.
(1)
No person or business entity, including a religious or charitable
organization, shall operate a mobile food truck in any public, private
or restricted space without a permit issued by the Township.
(2)
A separate mobile food truck permit is required for each and
every mobile food truck operated within the Township by an individual,
partnership, corporation or limited-liability company.
(3)
In addition to the Township permit, an operator of a mobile
food truck must have the required health licenses and any other required
approvals from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and/or County of Bucks
which regulate mobile food trucks. Copies of all approvals required
by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and/or its agencies, and/or the
County of Bucks shall be provided to the Township Code Enforcement
Officer at the time the permit application is submitted to the Township.
(4)
The Bucks County Department of Health certificate along with
the ServSafe Food Handler certification must be displayed at all times.
C.
Application for a permit.
(1)
Application. There shall be made available by the Township a
permit application form to apply for each mobile food truck permit.
The permit application shall provide the following:
(2)
Submission of materials. Each application shall indicate on
its face, in addition to other requirements as may be determined by
the Township Code Enforcement Officer, the below following materials
which shall be submitted by the applicant:
(a)
The name of the business and its owner or owners and the mailing
address of the business.
(b)
If the operator intends to establish a predetermined route,
the proposed service route and hours of operation, along with a detailed
schedule of times and locations where the mobile food truck will be
stationary and serving food.
(c)
Certification that the mobile food truck has passed all the
necessary inspections required by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
and/or designated state agencies and the County of Bucks.
(d)
Mobile food truck interior design showing all features, locations
of required handwashing sink for employees, location of propane tanks
or generators, etc. The design and final mobile food truck must comply
with all applicable provisions of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
Retail Food Code, Title 7, Agriculture, Chapter 46.
(e)
A certificate of insurance providing general liability insurance
of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence, listing the Township as
additionally insured. A mobile food truck permit shall be issued only
for the explicit time covered by the effective date of the general
liability insurance policy. The owner shall indemnify the Township
against any and all such claims, losses, injuries or damages to person
or property, including attorneys' fees and court costs, whether
incurred as a result of the negligence of the Township, the owner
or their employees or agents.
(3)
Approval process. Any application must be submitted to the Township
Code Enforcement Officer for review.
(4)
The Township Code Enforcement Officer may work with the applicant
or permit holder to modify a service route at any time before the
issuance of a permit or after the issuance of the permit, if the grant
of a permit or approval of a service route has led to the creation
of a nuisance or otherwise endangers the public health, safety, or
welfare or by request of the permit holder.
(5)
Within 30 days of the submission of a completed application,
the Township Code Enforcement Officer shall either issue or deny the
application for a permit.
(6)
If the application is denied in whole or in part, the Township
Code Enforcement Officer shall state in writing the specific reasons
for the denial. Any applicant who has been denied a permit may appeal
such denial by submitting a written request for a hearing to the Board
of Supervisors within 10 days of denial. Such hearing shall be conducted
within 30 days of receipt of the appeal. The decision resulting therefrom
shall be final and subject only to additional review under Pennsylvania
law.
D.
Rules and regulations and inspections.
(1)
General rules and regulations.
(a)
Mobile food trucks will be permitted to operate on a public
street or public property in the I-Industrial Zoning District.
(b)
No mobile food truck is permitted to park or stop to serve customers
within 250 feet of any principal customer entrance to any restaurant
or food establishment within Lower Southampton Township.
(c)
No operator of mobile food truck shall park, stand, or move
a vehicle and conduct business within areas of the Township where
the permit holder has not been authorized to operate.
(d)
Mobile food trucks are permitted to park and serve customers
on private property within the R-Residential Zoning Districts, if
given express written consent of the property owner and such written
consent is kept in the mobile food truck at all times when the vehicle
is operating on the private property.
(e)
No mobile food truck will provide or allow any dining area,
including but not limited to tables, chairs, booths, bar stools, benches,
and standup counters.
(f)
Consumers shall be provided with single-service articles, such
as plastic forks and paper plates, and a waste container for their
disposal. All mobile food trucks shall offer a waste container for
public use that the operator shall empty at his own expense.
(g)
Mobile food truck vendors are required to keep all areas within
20 feet of the mobile food truck clean of grease, trash, paper, cups,
or cans associated with the vending operation.
(h)
No mobile food truck shall make or cause to be made any unreasonable
or excessive noise so as to disturb or annoy the public or upon any
street, lane, alley, park, square, common or in any public building,
public place or business place, or private building or private place
within the Township.
(i)
A mobile food truck may not operate on property owned by the
Township unless the Township Code Enforcement Officer has granted
approval on the permit application for its operation at a particular
location during specific times.
(j)
For mobile food trucks on public property, the Township reserves
the right to temporarily move a mobile food truck to a nearby location
if the approved location needs to be used for emergency purposes,
snow removal, construction, or other public benefit or if the location
is required for a Township-sponsored event.
E.
Transfer of Permit Prohibited.
(1)
Transfers "for value" are prohibited. No person holding a permit
for a mobile food truck shall sell, lend, lease or in any manner transfer
a mobile food truck permit for value.
(2)
Transfers "not for value." Transfer as part of the sale of a
business is permitted as part of the sale of a majority of the stock
in a corporation holding such permits, as part of the sale of the
majority of the membership interest of the limited-liability company
holding such permit, or as part of the sale of a business or substantially
all of its assets, provided that there shall be no allocated or actual
value for the transfer of the permit.
(3)
Unauthorized Transfer Voids Permit. Any unauthorized transfer or attempt to transfer a permit shall automatically void such permit. Violations of this provision shall be subject to a fine of $1,000 each for the transferor and the transferee, pursuant to § 13-110. The unauthorized transfer or attempt to transfer of each permit shall constitute a separate violation.
F.
Operation of Mobile Food Trucks.
(1)
Each mobile food truck shall post its permit, or a copy of the
permit, in a conspicuous place to which the public has access by sight.
(2)
Operation without permit. Any mobile food truck being operated
without a valid mobile food truck permit issued by the Township Code
Enforcement Officer shall be deemed a public safety hazard, shall
be cited in accordance with existing Township ordinances and may be
impounded.
(3)
Unattended vehicles prohibited. No mobile food truck shall be
parked on the street overnight or left unattended and unsecured at
any time, unless authorized by the Township Code Enforcement Officer.
Any mobile food truck which is found to be unattended shall be considered
a public safety hazard, shall be cited in accordance with existing
Township ordinances and may be impounded.
(4)
A mobile food truck operating outside of an approved route, at an unauthorized location, or beyond the hours for which the operation has been permitted shall be deemed operating without a permit in violation of this section and shall be subject to enforcement under § 13-110, Violations and penalties, below.
[Ord. 28, 8/9/1954; as revised by Ord. 356, 12/17/1986; as
amended by Ord. 412, 10/14/1992, § 2; by Ord. 532, 9/10/2008;
and by Ord. No. 599, 5/11/2022]
No license fee shall be charged:
A.
To farmers selling their own produce.
B.
For the sale of goods, wares and merchandise donated by the owners
thereof, the proceeds of which are to be applied to any charitable
or philanthropic purpose.
C.
To any manufacturer or producer in the sale of bread and bakery products,
meat and meat products, or milk and milk products.
D.
To children under the age of 18 years who take orders for and deliver
newspapers, greeting cards, candy, bakery products, and the like,
or who represent the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts or similar organizations.
E.
To the seeking or taking of orders by insurance agents or brokers
licensed under the insurance laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
F.
To any person who has complied with the provisions of the Solicitation
of Funds for Charitable Purpose Act, 10 P.S. § 162.1 et
seq., as hereafter amended, supplemented, modified or reenacted by
the General Assembly of Pennsylvania.
G.
For taking orders for merchandise, by sample, from dealers or merchants
for individuals or companies who pay a retail mercantile tax and business
privilege tax at their chief place of business.
H.
To any residents selling used articles of personal property which
had been previously owned and used by that resident or a member of
his or her family. Such sale, known as a "garage or yard sale," must
take place at the residence of the person selling the article of personal
property. Such sales may not take place at a person's residence
more often than six days in any one calendar year.
But all persons exempted hereby from the payment of the license
fee shall be required to register with the License and Inspection
Department and obtain a license without fee, provided that any person
dealing in one or more of the above-mentioned exempted categories
and dealing with other goods, wares or merchandise not so exempted
shall be subject to the payment of the license fee fixed by this Part
for his activities in connection with the sale of goods, wares and
merchandise not in such exempted categories; provided, further, the
License and Inspection Department may similarly exempt from payment
of the license fee, but not from registering with it persons working
without compensation and selling goods, wares or merchandise for the
sole benefit of any nonprofit corporation. Provided, further, every
license issued under the provisions of this Part shall be issued on
an individual basis to any person or persons engaging in such business;
every individual shall obtain a separate license, issued to him in
his name, and the license fee hereby imposed shall be applicable to
every such individual license, except that a representative of a charitable
organization may obtain licenses for the applicants therein.
[Ord. 28, 8/9/1954; as revised by Ord. 356, 12/17/1986; and
as amended by Ord. 381, 7/19/1989; and by Ord. No.
599, 5/11/2022]
Every person desiring a license under this Part shall first
make application to the Zoning Department for such license. He shall,
when making such application, exhibit a valid license from any state
or county officer if such license is also required, including a valid
license from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the collection of
sales tax on all taxable items. The application shall state:
[Ord. 28, 8/9/1954; as revised by Ord. 356, 12/17/1986; and
as amended by Ord. No. 599, 5/11/2022]
Upon receipt of such application and the prescribed fee, the
License and Inspection Department, if it shall find such application
in order, shall issue the license required under this Part. Such license
shall contain the information required to be given on the application
therefor. Every license holder shall carry such license upon his person
if engaged in transient retail business from house to house or upon
any of the streets, alleys, sidewalks or public grounds, or shall
display such license at the location where he shall engage in such
business if doing so at a fixed location. He shall exhibit such license,
upon request, to all police officers, municipal officials, and citizens
or residents of the Township.
[Ord. 28, 8/9/1954; as revised by Ord. 356, 12/17/1986; and
as amended by Ord. 412, 10/14/1992, § 3; and by Ord. No. 599, 5/11/2022]
No person in any transient retail business shall:
A.
Sell any product or type of product not mentioned in his license.
B.
Hawk or cry wares upon any of the streets, alleys, sidewalks or public
grounds in the Township.
C.
When operating from a vehicle, stop or park such vehicle upon any
of the streets or alleys in the Township for longer than necessary
in order to sell therefrom to persons residing or working in the immediate
vicinity.
D.
Park any vehicle upon any of the streets or alleys in the Township
for the purpose of sorting, rearranging or cleaning any goods, wares
or merchandise or of disposing of any carton, wrapping material or
stock, wares or foodstuffs which have become unsalable through handling,
age or otherwise.
E.
Engage in any business activity, except by prior appointment, at
any time before 7:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m.
F.
Sell, display, solicit or take orders for goods, wares, merchandise
or services in or on any public right-of-way, street, alley, sidewalk
or public grounds.
G.
Have an exterior display of goods, wares or merchandise greater than
50 square feet in area.
[Ord. 28, 8/9/1954; as revised by Ord. 356, 12/17/1986; and
as amended by Ord. No. 599, 5/11/2022]
The Zoning Department shall supervise the activities of all
persons holding licenses under this Part. It shall keep a record of
all licenses issued hereunder and shall make a report thereof each
month to the Board of Supervisors.
[Ord. 28, 8/9/1954; as revised by Ord. 356, 12/17/1986; and
as amended by Ord. No. 599, 5/11/2022]
The Zoning Department is hereby authorized to suspend or revoke
any license issued under this Part when it deems such suspension or
revocation to be beneficial to the public health, safety or morals,
for violation of any provision of this Part, or for giving false information
upon any application for a license hereunder. Appeals from any suspension
or revocation may be made to the Board of Supervisors at any time
within 10 days after such suspension or revocation. No part of a license
fee shall be refunded to any person whose license shall have been
suspended or revoked.
[Ord. 28, 8/9/1954; as revised by Ord. 356, 12/17/1986; and
as amended by Ord. 381, 7/19/1989; Ord. 532, 9/10/2008; and by Ord. No. 599, 5/11/2022]
Any person, firm or corporation, or property owner who shall
violate any provision of this Part, upon conviction thereof in an
action brought before a Magisterial District Judge in the manner provided
for the enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules
of Criminal Procedure, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less
than $100 nor more than $1,000 plus costs. Each day that a violation
of this Part continues or each section of this Part which shall be
found to have been violated shall constitute a separate offense.
