Permits

This quarter I'll be paying more than $5000 for a variety of permits that are necessary for me to legally operate my business. There's a $700 annual permit for my commercial kitchen (if 2 businesses are working out of the same kitchen, they're both required to get one), a $226 permit for each special event, even if it's just one day, and $226 for each farmers' market for the calendar year. The farmers' market permit is actually a pretty good deal compared to the others because it covers multiple days, but it adds up because I'll be vending at 13 or 14 markets. (I even have to get a separate permit for summer and winter at the U District, because in the summer we're supervised by the community center but in the winter we're supervised by the farmers' market.) On top of that, I'll need to buy 3 fire permits at nearly $400 each, because I'll be vending at 3 locations on some market days.

I hate to sound like a Republican, but this is a lot of money. I'm all for public health, but there's got to be a more sensible system. The only positive thing I can say about the permit requirements is that they limit competition, because you've got to be really serious to get started as a food concession.

They're proposing raising the temporary event health permits by $75 next year, because they say that $226 doesn't cover the cost of an inspection. That would cost me an additional $1500. If the cost of the permit actually goes to pay the health inspector to come down and inspect my booth, I wonder if they'd be willing to give refunds for the days they don't even show up.