Sebastopol Aldermen are reminding vendors they need to purchase a transient vendor permit before selling goods in parking lots around town.
In a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, Mayor Gregg McGarrity told the Board of Aldermen a potential vendor had asked him about the requirements for selling in town.
“We have someone wanting to know if they can sell Avon in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot,” he said. “It’s for profit for herself.”
The Piggly Wiggly does allow vendors to rent space in the parking lot to set up a table or booth, McGarrity said, but they do not always coordinate with the town to make sure vendors have the proper permit.
Town Clerk Michelle Anderson said the board does have an ordinance requiring a transient vendor permit, which costs $250. Vendors who do not have the permit are subject to fines.
The issue, Anderson said, is that the town has not been actively enforcing the ordinance, and many people do not bother seeking their permit. They come to town, set up a booth or table and leave. That not only violates the town’s ordinance, it also means the town is not able to collect sales tax on the vendor’s transactions.
The high cost of the permit may also be affecting vendors decisions, Anderson added.
“Why don’t we do something simple,” Alderman Al Easom suggested. “If they’re going to be down there, they need to come down to City Hall and buy a permit, but it doesn’t cost but $20.”
Easom said he could see charging $250 for vendors that set up on a regular basis, but some booths are just residents holding a yard sale. He said having a simple 1-day permit could encourage more people to follow the town’s ordinaces.
Easom’s idea wasn’t bad, McGarrity said, but the transient vendor ordinance deals with sellers looking to make a profit, not yard sales. The board has discussed instituting a rummage sale ordinance in the past, he said, but did not take any action toward that end.
“We could revisit a possible rummage sale ordinance,” he said.
McGarrity said he would work on pulling sample ordinances from other towns to give the board some ideas.
In the meantime, the board agreed to work on enforcing the transient vendor ordinance. They agreed copies of the ordinance will be given to the Piggly Wiggly to pass on to vendors when they ask about renting space in the parking lot. With both the Piggly Wiggly and the town on the same page, the board hopes vendors will follow suit.
