Blue Ridge City Council is currently reviewing its sidewalk ordinance, the result of which can have major impact on the people’s downtown experience and merchants’ advertising.  The ordinance needs to be revised to make sure that sidewalks are accessible to everyone and one form of sidewalk sales is not favored over another form of sidewalk sales.  On the other hand, visually interesting sidewalks that have benches and chairs for resting draw people to come down the street.  The current sidewalk ordinance that Blue Ridge has doesn’t allow anything on the sidewalk says Blue Ridge’s Zoning and Building Director, Roy Parsons.

Complaints from East Main Street visitors and merchants are driving the need for revising Blue Ridge’s sidewalk ordinance.  People have not been able to navigate their wheelchairs or strollers along some sections of the sidewalk due to clothing racks. For a tourist city that is dependent upon welcoming all types of people, difficult to navigate sidewalks hurt its reputation.  Also, sidewalk decorations and clothing racks from one store have blocked easy access into neighboring stores.

Blue Ridge City Council had the first reading of the ordinance on a special called meeting on April 19.  The second reading is at another special called meeting on Friday, April 21 at 10 am. Mr. Parsons believes that at the Friday’s reading, more changes to the ordinance will be added, thus requiring a second second reading of the ordinance at another time.  Since a sidewalk ordinance does not pass through the city’s planning commission, once the ordinance is voted on at a second reading, the ordinance takes effect.

The draft of the sidewalk ordinance currently under review (read the complete sidewalk ordinance draft here) contains regulations on temporary sidewalk signage, decorative features, umbrella canopies and vendor boxes.  The draft also contains fees and fines.  Some specific regulations in the draft are:

• All sections of downtown’s sidewalks must have 60 inches clear width between a building and the edge of the sidewalk
• If the sidewalk in front of building is wider than 60 inches, then the building owner may place decorations in front of the building up to 36 inches outward as long as 60 inches remains obstacle free.
• Umbrellas which extend over the sidewalk must be 7 feet high and free of signs.
• Building owners and tenets can place items outside a business such as, sandwich boards or decorations, but cannot have any items for sale on the sidewalk or items that can cause a back-up of pedestrians.
• Building owner or tenets must pay $50 annual sidewalk permitting fee to have decorative items such as flower pots and benches in front of the building.
• Vendor boxes cannot be placed in front of a privately-owned building.
• Vendor boxes have a $50 annual permitting fee.
• First violation of ordinance results in a warning.
• Second violation of ordinance results in a $100 fine.
• Third violation of the ordinance may result in maximum penalties allowed under the City Charter.

When hearing the first reading of the sidewalk ordinance at a special-called meeting on April 19, Council members were not satisfied with the vagueness of some of the regulations particularly the descriptions of decorative items and placement and regulations of vendor boxes.  At the meeting, Mr. Parsons said that the proposed vendor box regulations are not legally equitable.  The vendor boxes sell merchandise and, according to the proposed ordinance, merchandise should not be allowed for sale on the sidewalks.  Mayor Whitener extended Mr. Parson’s statement and said even free publications such as real estate magazines and tourism magazines are selling items as well.  She thinks that having one set of rules for vendor boxes and one set of rules for store-front merchants could later cause legal problems for the city.

Though tomorrow’s second reading is not expected to be the final version of the sidewalk ordinance, a final version will be reached quickly.  City Council members have already had numerous phone calls about the ordinance and have listened to a few speakers in the citizen comments section of the council meetings.  Interested parties can attended the Friday, April 22 special-called meeting and voice their opinions.  Under new citizen comment rules, at the city council meeting, a person can speak for two-minutes about any topic covered during the meeting.  The person does not have to sign up beforehand.  If a person wishes to speak for five minutes, the person must contact City Clerk Kelsey Ledford five days prior to the meeting and send her the topic and a list of points to be covered.

In other news for downtown business owners, Blue Ridge’s sign moratorium has expired and business owners may now apply for sign permits.

See Related Posts:  “Overcoming Obstacles on Blue Ridge Sidewalks”