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

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- e e Amedee Smith, 2515 Lincoln, agreed with Ms. Pederson. He asked that everyone be required to play by the same rules and pay the same taxes. Mayor Obie closed the public hearing. Responding for the staff, Ms. Smernoff reviewed how the 150-foot distance is measured. She discussed the ways that can be used to decide which pushcart will be located in a given location. All the applications for a given location would be included in a lottery. In a seniority system, owners of licenses would be permitted to choose sites according to the issuance date of the license. That is, the owner who took out the first license would be permitted first choice of a site. Each vending cart at each location on public property will have to have a license, Ms. Smernoff said. Most of the current licenses expire in June. She recommended the carts be licensed again according to the new system. The staff is concerned about the congestion at 13th and Kincaid. The 150-foot distance from a similar business was recommended because so much testimony was received at the citizen's forum supporting that distance. Ms. Smernoff said the staff studied policies used in Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco. The Portland ordinance requires a sidewalk vendor to receive written permission from the owner in front of whose business the vendor will locate. The proposed ordinance for Eugene does not require such permission. In Berkeley, California, 19 spaces are available. The sidewalk must be at least 19-1/2 feet in width. Site reservation fees from $600 to $1400 a year are required. There is a waiting list of 260 for the 19 spaces available. In San Francisco, sidewalk vendors must be 600 feet or two blocks from a similar established business and the sidewalk must be 10 feet wide. In Seattle, sidewalk vendors must be 200 feet from a similar business. Ms. Smernoff said the policy direction for the administrative rules included a reference to interference with social and economic pursuits and the peaceful enjoyment of areas because of testimony at the citizen's forum that indicated the concern of established business owners about the character and nature of activities around pushcarts. There seems to be more activity around pushcarts than around bike racks. The administrative rules will not be voted on by the council. Answering a question from Ms. Wooten, Ms. Smernoff said one vendor is licensed to sell flowers in the downtown mall. No sidewalk vendors are licensed to sell flowers in other parts of the city. Many vendors sell flowers on private property and are not subject to any City regulations. Mr. Gleason added that the zoning ordinance regulations apply to flower vendors on private property. Ms. Bascom commented that the proposed ordinance did not seem to include general rules or resolve the unique situation at 13th and Kincaid. She thought the pushcarts add color and zest to the area, but concerns about paying a fair share, trash collection, and fairness to owners of pushcarts there now need to be addressed. She did not think those concerns have been resolved. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 22, 1985 Page 7