04/22/1985 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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e Discussing Berkeley, California, Mr. Wilson said there are eight pushcarts in an area similar to 13th and Kincaid. If the council enacts the proposed ordinance, he asked that the pushcarts be permitted to remain at 13th and Kincaid until the owners' current licenses expire. e Robert Szakacs, 1615 Cameo, said his wife operates the hotdog cart at 13th and Kincaid. They started the business in 1979 and have been in several loca- tions. They owned the only pushcart at 13th and Kincaid for a year. The other businesses accepted them. He recommended a grandfather clause or seniority for deciding which pushcarts will remain on the corner. He said the safety problem was caused by holes in the street. He called City Hall and got the street repaired. Pat Brooks, 610 East 13th, asked if the administrative rules would be voted upon by the council and if restrictions for the vendors at 13th and Kincaid were started a year ago on a trial basis. She represented a group of florists and submitted a memo dated April 19, 1985, to the council from 18 florists. She said many florists with businesses outside the city limits concurred with the ideas in the memo. The florists realized the need for an ordinance regulating sidewalk vending; however, they felt the proposed ordinance is not adequate for the whole city. They feel additional restrictions are needed. They wish the floral industry had been consulted prior to the drafting of the administrative rules. Not enough attention has been given to the need for parking, public safety, and consumer protection in areas other than 13th and Kincaid which is not representative of the city as a whole. She said the vending regulations should pertain to vendors on private, as well as public, land. She recommended that vendors be at least 400 feet or one block from a competing business if the ordinance applies to the whole city. She suggested different regulations might apply to the University area. Bruce Chase, #3 Chevy Chase Lane, is President of Chase Gardens, Inc., a flower producer and a past president of Roses, Inc., an international asso- ciation which represents commercial growers. He opposed the recommended ordinance. He has supported alternative marketing for flowers for many years. He said the per capita consumption of flowers had to rise because of imported flowers. Consumption has risen because outlets have made flowers more available to the general public. Sidewalk vendors and traditional shops are permitted at the same location in Minneapolis if it is agreeable to the merchants. Business has increased for both types of businesses. He suggested policies used in Boston, St. Paul, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and other cities be studied before an ordinance is adopted for Eugene. Kay Pederson, 251 Spyglass, represented Reed and Cross. She said people are charmed by the flower kiosks in San Francisco, but they are not charmed by the plastic buckets from which flowers are sold in Eugene. She did not like the truck which sold shoes by the Eugene Library. She said traditional florists know that sidewalk vending is here to stay, but they think it should be regulated. Ms. Pederson named many of the taxes established businesses must pay. She had been told a sidewalk flower vendor pays only $45 a year. She did not think that was fair. Owners of strong businesses are not afraid of competition, but they want the competition to be fair, she said. She asked the council to postpone a decision and consider the changes recommended by the ~ floral industry. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 22, 1985 Page 6