JACKSONVILLE CITY COUNCIL

RESEARCH DIVISION

 

 

Joint Rules, LUZ, and RCD Committee sMeeting Minutes

January 19, 2011

3:00 P.M.

 

 

Topic: Ordinance 2010-856 (regulation of location of transient merchants)

 

Location: City Council Chamber, 1st floor, City Hall, 117 W. Duval Street

 

In Attendance:  Council Members E. Denise Lee, John Crescimbeni, Ray Holt, Bill Bishop, Reginald Brown, Don Redman, Glorious Johnson, Warren Jones

 

Steve Rohan, Margaret Sidman and Jason Teal - Office of General Counsel; Sean Costigan - Council Auditors Office; Sherry Hall – Mayor’s Office; Juliette Williams - Legislative Services Division; Jeff Clements and John J. Jackson – Council Research Division.

 

Meeting convened: 3:10 p.m.

 

Council Member Lee (Rules Committee Chair) called the meeting to order and explained the purpose of the meeting as an opportunity to hear and discuss various viewpoints on pending legislation 2010-856 ORD-MC Amend Chapt 250, Ord Code, Prohibiting Location of a Vendor’s Vending Cart, Display Device, or Accessory Container within 1 mile of Propty Line of a Permanent Business selling Same Types of Product. (Sidman) (Introduced by C/P Webb; Co-Sponsored by C/M Joost, Holt & Fussell).

 

Council Member Lee indicated that in the course of the meeting, initial views of the Council Members present would he heard and then the public in attendance would be welcomed to voice their respective views on the proposed legislation.

 

Council Member Reginald Brown indicated that he wanted to familiarize himself with Chapter 250 and had asked Sean Costigan, Council Auditor’s Office, to provide him with information.

 

Council Member Jones said that he was looking forward to hearing from the people who had come to the public meeting to air their views.

 

Council Member Crescimbeni asked Deputy General Counsel Steve Rohan if the only change that the meeting was focusing on was changing 300 feet to one mile.  Rohan replied that that was the only substantive change that we were looking at.  Council Member Crescimbeni noted that he had had a role in crafting the 1993 legislation that created the 300 feet distance provision.

 

Council Member Holt asked the Deputy General Counsel for a definition of “transient vendor;” Council member Reginald Brown asked how “temporary” would be defined.

 

Council Member Bishop asked the Deputy General Counsel if the Ordinance Code provided for anyone to conduct business in the public right-of-way.  Mr. Rohan replied that there is a mechanism to allow it with proper permits.

 

Comments from the public followed.

 

Attorney Tim Atkinson of Tallahassee expressed his opposition to the proposed legislation as a representative of American Promotional Events/d.b.a. TNT Fireworks.  The handout that Mr. Atkinson distributed included a proposed amendment to the legislation that would exempt fireworks vendors from the regulation pursuant to a provision in Chapter 791 of the Florida Statutes.  Mr. Atkinson depicted TNT Fireworks vendors as taxpayers and legitimate businesses.  He felt that the proposed legislation was in violation with the law of the State of Florida.  Under Chapter 791 (Florida Statutes), municipalities or counties were barred from interfering with the right to sell sparklers.  Mr. Atkinson urged the Council to amend the proposed legislation so as to exempt TNT Fireworks.

 

Michael Herzberg, representing Sleiman Enterprises, spoke in opposition to the proposed legislation.  He felt that the entire Ordinance Code Section needed revamping, noting that references in the section referred to a City department that no longer existed (Consumer Protection Office).  He felt that the proposed legislation would invite legal challenges.  Mr. Herzberg noted that there were transient vendors on Sleiman Enterprises properties and that those vendors paid taxes, had leases, had insurance and paid premium (higher) rent.

 

Joe Andrews, a concerned taxpayer of the County, spoke in opposition to the proposed legislation, seeing it as an attack on free enterprise.  Mr. Andrews said he saw the issue as a matter of supply and demand.  He preferred market mechanisms over government edicts.  Mr. Andrews felt that the proposed ordinance amendment would stifle entrepreneurship.

 

John Nooney spoke in opposition to the proposed ordinance code amendment. He wanted the County’s waterways exempted from the legislation, seeing the proposed change as a threat to efforts to promote tourism in our area.

 

Michelle Baldwin of Mayport spoke in opposition to the proposed legislation.  Ms. Baldwin, a transient vendor, felt that the issue at hand could very well be a matter of enforcing current laws on the books.  She underscored the fact that we no longer have a Consumer Affairs Department.  She described the numerous permits that a vendor has to acquire, the letters of permission from property owners allow transient vendors to set up shop on their property and other regulations and requirements that transient vendors follow.

 

Mark Fechtel, representing Earth Works Nursery and Garden Center, spoke in favor of the proposed legislation, viewing transient vendors as operating on a playing field that was not equal.  He felt that the brick and mortar businesses had permanent hardships.  Mr. Fechtel said that he had been in business since 1988 and that he has had to expend a considerable amount of money to stay in business and meet expenses.  He felt that transient vendors were unfair and were the cause of a local nursery vendor going out of business.

 

John Shannon of Atlantic Beach spoke against the proposed legislation and presented the Council Members with a petition containing 144 names.

 

Twyla Wilkins, formerly the owner of a store on A. Phillip Randolph Boulevard and now a transient merchant, described how her business has been more successful as a mobile operation, operating legally, which better meets the needs of her customers.  She listed the numerous official permits and certifications that a transient vendor needs to operate legally.  She cited inconsistencies in procedure in the Tax Collector’s Office among the personnel who issue the transient merchant licenses.  In response to a question about her business operations in other counties, Ms. Wilkins indicated that Jacksonville’s business regulations seem fairly equivalent to what she deals with in other jurisdictions; some are a bit more stringent than Jacksonville, others more lenient.  She cited the need to separately define and separately regulate “festivals”, “farmer’s markets” and “flea markets” where vendors operate.

 

The public comment period having concluded, the committee members discussed the proposed legislation at length.  There was considerable sentiment that, whether the current proposal is adopted or not, better enforcement of the existing ordinance is warranted.  Assistant General Counsel Jason Teal informed the committees that the transient merchant code was substantially rewritten several years ago in conjunction with the Super Bowl.  Chapter 250 references enforcement by the Consumer Affairs Division, but that division was abolished in a reorganization of the administrative departments subsequent to the Super Bowl and enforcement responsibility is unclear.  The Code Enforcement Division monitors compliance of transient merchants with the Zoning Code requirements but does not enforce the other provisions of the chapter.  Council Member Jones requested that the committees hear from the Code Enforcement Division about the sufficiency of their resources, personnel, and enforcement efforts.  He is also curious to know if the transient merchants that generate the most complaints are, in fact, operating legally or if they are violating the ordinance.

 

The need for a joint subcommittee of the LUZ, Rules and RCD Committees to conduct further study was discussed.  The committee chairs and vice chair present appointed the following members to the joint subcommittee: LUZ – Crescimbeni (joint subcommittee chair), Redman and Holt; Rules – Bishop and R. Brown; RCD – Jones and Johnson (pending confirmation by RCD Chair Clay Yarborough). 

 

Attendees in the audience were encouraged to sign the attendance sheet and provide contact information so that they can be put on a notification list for future joint subcommittee meetings.

 

Meeting adjourned: 4:56 p.m.

 

 

Jeff Clements, Council Research Division, 630-1405

 

Posted 1.20.11

5:00 p.m.

 

Meeting handouts – LSD

1.19.11

 

Meeting recording – LSD

1.19.11