A local ice cream vendor is hoping to get permission to set up at Friendship Park by the Sechelt pier, but Lane Cobiskey told Sechelt council on March 6 that the wording of the mobile vending bylaw is too restrictive.
Cobiskey said the business he runs with his wife, e.b.’s Ice Cream, is looking to supplement sales at special events with a “flagship location” downtown.
“Sechelt wants an ice cream shop. Sechelt wants a place to take visiting friends and family to get a quality locally made ice cream. Sechelt wants to vitalize the commercial core, wants its people and visitors to enjoy the sights, the ocean and the parks and to drink in the loveliness of the area,” he said.
Cobiskey’s plan calls for a kiosk that can be set up at Friendship Park and left in place for the May to September season, and he applied for use of the mobile vendor pad but was turned down because the kiosk wouldn’t meet the definition of mobile.
He said changing the bylaw to allow for a seasonal kiosk would enable something that’s more accessible for people who use scooters or mobility aids, and more importantly would be kid friendly.
It would also be easier and safer for prospective vendors.
“The roadway into the pad has a configuration which makes it difficult to back in a trailer,” Cobiskey said. “I can appreciate how previous vendors did not like this location… To back in and set up daily in this area is a hazard that would be multiplied daily with the possibility of an accident involving the public or the vendor.”
Councillors agreed to ask the planning department to study possible changes to the mobile vending bylaws.
