Mobile food vendor rules to become part of county code

Rules for mobile food vendors are poised to become part of Nye County code after county commissioners on Tuesday greenlighted the proposed changes.

Pahrump Regional Planning Committee Chair John Koenig said two of the Pahrump mobile food vendors, Pete Ellis, the owner of Pete's Meats and Treats and Jeannie Wright, who owns Jeanne's Hot Dogs, were OK with new rules, which take effect on March 7, 2016.

"At several meetings, both with members of my committee and the public, with two of these vendors, and I've spoken to two of them several times at their locations to go through exactly what we are doing and they are OK with the way it is now," he said.

According to the new rules, which were approved by the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission in December, a mobile food vending unit shall not be stationary in one location for more than 12 hours within a 24-hour period.

Vendors wishing to remain in one location longer than the above-stated limits for more than three days in one calendar week, not associated with a special event, shall submit for review and approval a Conditional Use Permit application.

Mobile food vending units shall maintain a minimum separation of three hundred feet from the entry door of existing restaurants.

Mobile food vending units located at active construction sites, farmer's markets and special events are exempt from the provisions of this chapter.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter or failing to comply with any of the mandatory requirements of any ordinance of the county is guilty of a misdemeanor. Except in cases where a different punishment is prescribed by an ordinance of the county, any person convicted of a misdemeanor under the ordinances of Nye County shall be punished by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment not to exceed six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, unless otherwise specified.

Commissioners Butch Borasky and Donna Cox questioned the need for the license.

"I don't understand why if somebody has a town license, a state license and the county license, why get into all of this trouble with writing an ordinance for two or three people out there selling hot dogs," he said.

Changes were spurred by complaints from brick-and-mortar restaurants, however officials refused to disclose where exactly those complaints originated.

"I think we've got fair thing, we'll see how it works," Schinhofen said.

Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77