Street Vendors And Sidewalk Sales

[john r. swierz]

     How about, you and those that feel like you do can go to city council and request copies of the 2 ordinances. The city has a website and ordinances can be checked there. Your request  is more of a demand and there is not enough space to post the full content of the many ordinances that we vote on. But if you  would like to do , have at it.  As the only council member that posts on this site in and attempt to clear some things up, I am now thinking that maybe I will pull back a little.

[northside lurker]

I am offended that government continues to pass more laws, taking away freedoms on a daily basis, and does so without the knowledge of the governed.  This is happening continuously at the Federal, State and Local levels, and then bureaucrats and regulators compound those laws by imposing more regulations, restrictions, fees etc.  These laws are often passed to solve a certain perceived problem, but they usually cause at least as many new problems as they claim to solve.  Have you considered all of the unintended consequences of this ordinance?

I was thinking about this, but only coincidentally and more generally, this morning.

"Conservatives" believe in personal freedoms and little/no government involvement in their lives.  This system only works until it doesn't.  My aunt and uncle live on about 4 acres out in the country with no zoning regulations.  Right now, it's beautiful out there.  They raise a few cows, and they get along with their neighbors.  However, what do they do if one of their neighbors decides that they are going to make some extra money by running a junk yard? (or something else undesirable but perfectly legal)

I could be wrong, but these new regulations being described in this thread are in response to the new fad of selling "junk" on the sidewalk.  Until now, apparently, everyone agreed that this was poor practice, and gave their business districts a shabby appearance.  Even though there wasn't a law prohibiting it (for the sake of argument - I don't know) businesses in Youngstown weren't cluttering up their storefronts, making them look like garage sales.  But, that is no longer true.

[Rick Rowlands]

  Upon checking with the law dept. it will not have be tweaked. The vendor can be on the sidewalk, she just can't be near a door ,or near a fire hydrant, near a curb cut, or at the curb.

That is extremely vague.  How near is near?  There is not a single square foot of sidewalk in downtown that is not near a fire hydrant, door, curb cut or curb!

I am sorry that you were offended by my remarks.  I am offended that government continues to pass more laws, taking away freedoms on a daily basis, and does so without the knowledge of the governed.  This is happening continuously at the Federal, State and Local levels, and then bureaucrats and regulators compound those laws by imposing more regulations, restrictions, fees etc.  These laws are often passed to solve a certain perceived problem, but they usually cause at least as many new problems as they claim to solve.  Have you considered all of the unintended consequences of this ordinance?

Jay asked a good question.  What about the farmers market?  What about the grey to green festival?  What about a child opening a lemonade stand?  Will we see in Youngstown a repeat of this embarrassment in Riverside Park, NY?  http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-ten-year-old-find-lemonade-stand,0,3610640.story

You say that the law doesn't apply to religious, political, youth and school organizations.  This excludes other non profit charitable organizations.  Was that done on purpose or was that a misquote?

How about this.  Post the full text of the ordinance to this forum so that we can read for ourselves what this law entails.  It would be nice if you could do that with all of the legislation that you sponsor, and I would highly recommend that all of the council members do the same. There is nothing wrong with the public being able to read these proposed laws is there?  As I said earlier, post the legislation before it passes and before its misrepresented in the paper, and allow the people to be informed.

[jay]

Would this new ordinance affect the merchants at the North Side Farmers' Market?  Various vendors sell produce, baked goods, T-shirts, hammocks, jewelry and garage sale type items.  These sales all take place along the sidewalk on Elm Street.

[irishbobcat]

Ricky is just a warped, frustrated Neo-con....

[john r. swierz]

  Upon checking with the law dept. it will not have be tweaked. The vendor can be on the sidewalk, she just can't be near a door ,or near a fire hydrant, near a curb cut, or at the curb. Rick, you have the right to your opinion, however sometime you can be crude in your remarks.  I work very hard at my job and when Skolnick called me I did not have the ordinance in front of me, I told him that and he choose to write what he wanted.   Maybe if you called me I could explain the need for this law. Since you don't get calls from residents you would not the need.

[Rick Rowlands]

I don't understand the purpose of this new law.  Youngstown has existed for over a century without this law, why is it needed now?  It appears to have been poorly written since as soon as it is enacted it has to be rewritten to account for its unintended consequences. 

Since Mr. Swierz is a member of this forum, why has he not posted any information about this ordinance her when it was a proposal?  Why just spring this upon us out of the blue without soliciting public comment?  Perhaps if it had been widely circulated someone would have mentioned that it will hurt downtown vendors and should be "tweaked", or better, tossed in the river where it belongs.

Transparency is a good slogan but politicians don't believe in it. And please don't tell me about "public notice was placed in a newspaper", or "council meetings are open to the public" or any of that BS.  Government has to make a better effort than that to inform the governed.

[Towntalk]

Licensing law vexes downtown vendor

http://www.vindy.com/news/2010/jul/01/licensing-law-vexes-downtown-vendor/?newswatch

[northside lurker]

Mr. Swierz was quoted as saying that they would tweak the law so it doesn't hurt downtown street vendors.

[jay]

The City of Youngstown has some regulations in the making to deal with street vendors and sidewalk sales.