As COVID Pandemic Slows, Moorestown Events To Get New Guidelines

MOORESTOWN, NJ — As more people get the coronavirus vaccine and the number of cases continues to shrink, it makes sense that New Jersey residents are going to want to get out of the house and do something fun with a group of people. Moorestown wants to make it easier for people to do it in the township.

Moorestown Council introduced a proposed ordinance Monday night that clarifies requirements for peddlers, solicitors, transient vendors and community event vendors to obtain a permit in the township.

One thing it does is remove vendors and one-day community events from this section after some complained of the lengthy process they have to go through for a single day.

“We had vendors who wouldn’t participate because of our process,” Moorestown Business Association (MBA) President Kathy Hiltner said. “They said they participated in events in other towns, and they didn’t have to go through that process. It kept them away.”

If approved at council’s March 22 meeting, community events would be removed from being subject to the process, and would get its own section of the township code with its own regulations. The public will have the chance to comment on the changes during a hearing prior to the vote.

There was no set date as to when that would be considered, but Moorestown Mayor Nicole Gillespie said it would happen quickly.

The third annual Moorestown Paddle Boad/Kayak Race and Family Festival is scheduled to take place at Strawbridge Lake on June 12, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is scheduled to include vendors and food trucks, and is the first major event scheduled in Moorestown since the pandemic began.

“The organizer knows what’s coming, and we will make sure we support him,” Gillespie said. “It isn’t a problem.”

To hold events, organizers will need insurance, and they have to sign a hold harmless agreement, officials said. However, they won’t need to apply for eligibility to the chief of police at least 20 days before beginning to conduct business, as transient vendors are required to.

A background check was established for transient vendors in 2019 after food trucks began popping up in the township. Under the new guidelines established in 2019, the police departments conduct a thorough investigation of transient vendors and anyone working with them.

The application fee is $75, and the police chief has up to 15 days to tell transient vendors if they are deemed eligible. Vendors told the MBA they felt the background check is unnecessary. Read more here: Moorestown Council Approves Changes To Transient Vendors Law