Many friends of the Cutler Bay Farmer’s Market have expressed dismay at its closing and are asking for additional details pertaining to the closing. There are two problem areas: 1. The Farmer’s Market ordinance states that food trucks are prohibited 2. Although there a many exemptions, it is the general law that all persons engaged in business in Miami-Dade County must possess a current County business license. Like many enterprises abutting Old Cutler road in Cutler Bay, extensive construction activity there has severely curtailed access to the Market over the course of the past several months. We can liken the Market to a sick person whom is slowly wasting away due to lack of nourishment and care. Now, when the patient is at his weakest, the authorities decide to pull out the IV lines and remove the respirator. The patient has since died as a result, but we sincerely hope that we are able to bring him back to life. The Town of Cutler Bay has recently elected to take a zealous approach to ordinance enforcement. There are two that are particularly onerous and represent a fatal blow to the Market as cited above: no food trucks and the insistence that a County business license be in effect before a vendor sets up. We do not deny that “the law is the law” and that it should be enforced. However, in this case we submit that the Market is a community asset that many Cutler Bay residents/taxpayers enjoy and that it deserves the nurturing of the community and its municipal authorities. The Market needs a limited number (3 or 4?) food trucks because of the “billboard effect” that these brightly colored vehicles provide. They serve to attract more attention to the Market from passing motorists. For the most part they are parked on the property only 3 or 4 hours (11 am to 2 or 3 pm) each week. Vendors, almost exclusively, are not small businesses. A better term would be “micro” businesses. Typically most come to the Market once or twice, sell very little and never return. For example, a (fictional) vendor, Mary Smith, who has been knitting mittens for family and friends for many years decides that perhaps others would enjoy having a pair of her handmade mittens too. She might decide to explore selling them at the Market. But upon inquiring she learns that in addition to the Market space rental fee she will also have to pay for a Miami-Dade county business license as well. It is almost a certainty that she will decide against pursuing the idea. We ask that the Cutler Bay Code Enforcement Dept. act as the Market’s friend and allow new vendors several weeks leeway before demanding such a license. Ultimately, our elected officials that set policy must determine whether or not it is in the community’s best interests to foster the special situation that the Market represents or allow it to take its last, labored breath.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Jun 2013 19:47:26 +0000
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