On April 14, 2022, the Regional District announced the launching of a pilot program for “seasonal mobile food vending licences”, beginning in Spring of 2022, to operate in Christie Memorial Park, Kenyon Park, Manitou Park and the Similkameen Recreation Centre.

At present, the only reference in the Okanagan Valley Zoning Bylaw to “mobile vendor” is an indirect one in the definition of “eating and drinking establishment” that excludes “mobile catering food services” as permitted type of restaurant use.

As a result, “mobile vendor” are generally seen to be prohibited in all zones, with the exception of the Parks and Recreation (PR) Zone.  This is a result of Administration having previously interpretated the definition of “park” to allow for “mobile vendor”, specifically:

“park” means any publicly-owned, held or beneficially owned outdoor land or facility specifically designed for passive or active recreation including tot-lots, playgrounds, walkways, trails, band shells, greenbelts, buffers, nature interpretation areas, or similar land uses, including all uses permitted in Provincial Parks, and all natural and constructed landscaping, facilities, playing fields, buildings and structures consistent with the general purpose of public park land; [emphasis added]

Consequently, property owners seeking to operate a food truck (or similar) outside of a PR Zone are required to obtain the approval of the Regional District Board. 

In order to provide greater clarity on the allowance for "mobil vendors" to operate on lands zoned PR, as well as to review the suitability of allowing "mobile vendors" to operate in a wider range of zones, the Regional District has initiated a Zone Review.

For additional information, please contact:
Colin Martin
Planning Services Clerk
cmartin@rdos.bc.ca
250-490-4239