The Town of Banff is proposing to establish business licence fees for individual vendors and a surcharge for non-residents for festivals and special events on top of what special event organizers already pay.
On Monday (Sept. 12), council asked administration to come back with a report establishing a separate business licence fee or surcharge to be included as part of the recently-approved festivals and special events policy, not as part of the business licence bylaw.
Council hasn’t decided on specific fees yet, but the planning and development department is suggesting a new $10 vendor fee per special event application, which would apply to the Wednesday farmers’ market.
There’s also a proposal for a non-resident surcharge of $496 for organizers of seasonal events, or $140 for temporary events operating less than four days.
“To ensure we are on par with what other jurisdictions are charging, we are exploring the idea of introducing a non-resident surcharge as well as a $10 vendor fee,” said Jennifer Laforest, a planner with the Town of Banff.
“We heard very strongly from special event organizers that they will cover the cost of their vendors coming to the event. What we will require is a list of vendors at the event and with that we will apply the vendor surcharge to the business licence.”
The new fees would be on top of the existing business licence base fee of $636 for the farmers’ market and other seasonal events, and $280 for temporary special events, such as craft fairs, food and beverage events and sporting and recreation events.
Existing fees are more than what Whistler and Canmore charge for special events, but less than Vancouver of Edmonton. The Town of Canmore charges a $75 per day business licence fee, which covers individual vendors at special events like the Thursday farmers’ market.
To calculate the vendor rate in Banff, Town planners looked at what restaurants and retailers pay as a daily rate for comparable business licences. They found that business licence fees for retail and restaurants in town range between $2.15 and $21.91 per day.
Councillor Ted Christensen voiced support for vendor fees, and in particular named the farmers’ market, but said he has concerns about how it’s being calculated.
“It’s an outdoor retail market and this outdoor market is competing with our retailers for their discretionary amount of money over and above accommodation, transportation and meals,” he said.
“I see an additional fee as a way of leveling the playing field, but I think $10 overall is not sufficient. We have no idea what they earn. I’ve heard some say it’s only $200 and I’ve heard some say it’s $1,500 a day.”
Coun. Stavros Karlos said he was initially content with the existing business licence fees for special events, but conceded the $10 vendor fee.
“I don’t agree with all the fear and loathing some people have with farmers’ markets and the catastrophe they think they’re going to cause. It’s just a farmers’ market,” he said.
The planning and development department will consult with the public, including organizers of special events and downtown businesses, to get further feedback.
“The next report to be presented over the next month or two will have several fee options with further analysis for council’s review,” said Laforest.
