Council to vote on business license fees, food truck vendor ordinance

The first Homewood City Council meeting of November will include votes on a new business license fee structure and new regulations for food truck and other pop-up businesses.

At the Oct. 29 finance committee meeting, committee members voted to put a $500 cap on the fees for real estate rental businesses. The new fee structure includes a flat $100 license fee as well as 1/5 of 1 percent of gross annual income up to the cap.

Other changes the committee has previously discussed include:

• Sett a new upper cap of $2,500 for general contractor licenses, which is calculated at 1/10 of 1 percent of gross income. The previous fee cap was $500.
• Increase the liquor license fee to $350, from $250.
• Set a $100 flat fee to license professional offices such as doctors, veterinarians and architects, which do not currently pay a fee.
• A $35 fee for returned checks.

The public safety committee also committed to firm details after several weeks of discussion about regulations for food truck and pop-up vendors. The discussion was started to better regulate trucks that are not meeting health code rules and have set up semi-permanent structures at their locations.

The draft, which the committee voted to send to the full City Council for consideration, will only allow food trucks and similar mobile businesses to operate between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. each day. They must also apply for a permit to operate, which will cost $50 and will come with a decal to be placed on the vehicle so city officials can easily monitor compliance.

City attorney Mike Kendrick said temporary businesses like produce stands will not have to apply for the permit, as they have a different permit issued by the state agriculture commissioner.

The public safety committee also heard from Mayor Scott McBrayer and Jennifer Mims, owner of Real & Rosemary and Caveat, about the need for more parking for businesses on the east end of 29th Avenue South.

Mims said businesses like Real & Rosemary, Urban Cookhouse, Big Bad Breakfast and Farm Bowl are "pitted against each other" in competition for parking spots, as well as other businesses along the street and the neighboring Aloft Hotel.

McBrayer wants to pursue an agreement with Regions Bank to use part of its parking deck. He also asked the committee to consider angled parking instead of parallel spaces along 29th Avenue South, to fit a few more spaces in.

Mims also suggested extending the 3-hour parking limit to spaces on 29th Avenue and 19th Place South, to keep parking spots near the restaurants from being occupied all day.

“That would be a very immediate huge help,” Mims said.

The public safety committee decided to send an ordinance to include the area in the downtown 3-hour parking limit to the full City Council for a vote. Re-striping parking along 29th Avenue South can be done by the city without need for an ordinance.

These and other issues will come before the City Council on Nov. 5. Agendas are available at cityofhomewood.com.