City Aproval

This is my first post so go easy on me! To date I have only read half the posts on these forums.  At this point I have the cash and am about ready to get a cart. I have a pretty good idea of what I need to do with the county health dept. but after calling 5 or 6 of the local cities and townships all I hear is "we are to snooty here in Snootiesville" and we do not allow any sales of anything in even a private parking lot. I have never noticed a cart in any of these municipalities. Most of my conversations have been with the Clerks office. Do I need to start with a different department? I suppose going in person could help my odds slightly. Am I getting the standard brush off, do I need to go to less organized cities?

Thanks, Kirk

Mishigan Minnasota and Wisconson have some of the toughest codes in the nation, with that said, it can be done. don't talk to people on the phone, do it face to face, they are after all just beaurocrats, whos entire existence is based on makeing their lives and their jobs  easier on themselves.  In any business situation and most especially in government you will find any one can say no, you have to find that one person who is authorised to say yes. 

olddude2


Mishigan Minnasota and Wisconson have some of the toughest codes in the nation, with that said, it can be done. don't talk to people on the phone, do it face to face, they are after all just beaurocrats, whos entire existence is based on makeing their lives and their jobs  easier on themselves.  In any business situation and most especially in government you will find any one can say no, you have to find that one person who is authorised to say yes. 

Put on a good appearence, have your info organized and ask smart questions. Go in with the attitude of, "I want to be in total compliance and I thought I would turn to you first before I made any purchases. Would you help me insure my cart/trailer meets your code?"

I got the royal treatment from my local HD rep. I even offered to bring the cart down and feed the department so they could get an idea of what I'm about. He said he would just pop out to the local Ford dealer where I'm handing out food to car customers and check everything out. In this case, it's ALWAYS better to ask for permission instead of forgiveness.

I was having a problem with the city but finally found what I call a "seam site" which I got a three year lease on...

A seam site is located within the city but NOT affected by local laws. In my case a State owned airport, but a state or federal owned park or building can many times bypass local ordinances. It sure was nice to have the same bastards who stood on my windpipe when they had authority ask me pretty-please to go with their regs when they lost control.

A good place to start is the department  that handles business liscenses. They should be more helpful and can point you in the right direction. Zoning would be another department to contact. Have you had a meeting with the health department inspector? He may be able to recommend the right people in the city to meet with.

I have had to go to Central Inspection.  They handle the zoning.

Start with the County Health Dept if you can. They can usually tell you what cities will allow vendors.  We also try to hit the particular cities as well. 

Some great replies here.  Thanks!