Photo: Facebook

An example of a busy food truck in Kelowna in 2015.

It could soon be easier to get a food truck approved in Osoyoos, which town council hopes will help their ongoing goal of creating a vibrant, bustling downtown. 

Council heard a presentation from senior planner Don McArthur Tuesday evening, who explained that current policies regarding licensing and approval for street food vendors are outdated and cumbersome, resulting in many potential vendors not bothering to complete their application. 

"The town receives inquiries about food vendor licences on a regular basis," McArthur said. "The Town Centre Renewal Plan encourages an increase in the number of food options in downtown, which was supported by community feedback."

He added that town staff recommend council keep in mind existing restaurants when debating potential vendors, so as to complement but not replicate local businesses. 

Council was enthusiastic about the concept. 

"I think anything that you can do to improve and get more people involved in doing this, I think is a really good thing," said mayor Sue McKortoff. "We certainly had a few [food trucks] around that really were good, and I don't know what happened."

She added that it would be helpful for staff to include an "exit interview" policy in the bylaw requirements, so that council can hear from any successful vendors who choose not to return and hear their reasons why. Councillor Rhodes agreed.

"We just seem to attract them periodically, I know we didn't have any last year at all," "The ones that we've had always seem to be really good ... regrettably, I think some of the businesses have not been successful for one reason or another so I think that exit interview is a really good idea."

Council passed a motion to direct town staff to put together an updated policy and bylaw amendment for consideration at a later meeting.