Fredonia Trustee David Bird proposed changes to the village’s rules for vendors at last week’s Board of Trustees meeting.

“Looking at the way that we are charging food vendors, truck vendors and whatnot through the village, it’s been brought to our attention by one of our food vendors that there’s an inequality in how they have to pay to sell in the village, as opposed to the vendors that set up on village property that don’t pay,” Bird stated.

“So I am proposing a change to the vendor law,” he continued. “It’s a yearly license law — the license would not be valid within 100 feet of brick and mortar businesses inside the village, licenses are not valid within 150 feet of events or groups who the village has granted permission to use as a designated location or a designated time unless approved by the designee. Children under 10 years of old or 100% charitable organizations and owners of brick and mortar businesses inside the village are exempt from this law, and the license fee is half the mobile food truck license fee because health inspections will not be required.”

=According to previous reporting, the food truck fee is $500 a year, and vendors can also pay $50 for a one-day license. Fredonia passed a food truck law in 2018 and amended it the next year to specify the fees. An attempt to look at the law on Fredonia’s website Monday brought up the message, “This file cannot be previewed.”

Trustee James Lynden suggested at the meeting that the village Planning Board look at Bird’s proposal and offer revisions, if it chose to. Bird agreed.

Trustee Nicole Siracuse said the license fee should be specified, rather than just get called half of whatever the food truck fee is.

Trustee Michelle Twichell asked if the changes would apply to Fredonia Farmers Market vendors. Bird said they would.