Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Tired of unnamed downtown businesses allegedly not complying with the stipulations of the city's sidewalk ordinance, officials have decided to take action.
On Tuesday evening, January 8, the Monticello City Council instructed City Manager Steve Wingate to mail certified letters to each of the affected business owners, giving each 30 days to comply or otherwise remove any merchandise and furnishings from the sidewalk.
“I want us to be gentle about it, not like the Gestapo,” Councilwoman Julie Conley said.
Councilman Troy Avera, however, was more forceful. When it was suggested that the city mail the merchants a letter merely asking for their cooperation, Avera drew the line.
“We've done that time and again,” he said. “I say we send them a certified letter telling them they have to get a permit and insurance or everything on the sidewalk will be removed. We're allowing them the use of public space. I say, on the 31 day, if they haven't complied, everything on the sidewalk will be removed.”
The issue came to a head when City Attorney Bruce Leinback again voiced concerns about the city's lack of enforcement of the so-called sidewalk ordinance.
“My concern is that we're not enforcing the ordinance,” Leinback said. “I'm concerned about the liability for the city if somebody injures themselves.”
Leinback briefly cited the reason and intent of the ordinance, which dates from two years back. He explained that by state law, no furnishings or merchandise are allowed on sidewalks.
In the interest of fostering and promoting economic development, however, the city had adopted the ordinance to allow the placement of chairs and tables and merchandise on the sidewalk, provided that the businesses applied for a city permit and showed proof of liability insurance.
To further enhance the opportunity, Leinback said, the city had even amended another of its ordinances to allow the serving and consumption of alcoholic beverages on the sidewalk, provided that the activity was conducted right outside the establishment and in conjunction with the serving of food.
The problem, Leinback said, was that merchants were taking advantage of the ordinance's benefits without complying with its requirements for the permit and liability insurance, putting the city at risk.
The city's choice, Leinback said, was either to ban all placements on the sidewalk, or enforce the ordinance.
“But at present, we're in limbo,” he said.
In fact, he suggested, the state was turning a blind eye to the city's permitting of the activities on the sidewalks. Indeed, if the Florida Department of Transportation wanted, Leinback said, it could
require the city to enforce the ban on all furnishings on state rights-of-way such as US 19.
“The state is not enforcing our obligation not to allow things to be put on the sidewalks,” Leinback said.
Wingate mentioned that some progress had been made in terms of the merchants' compliance. He said that in talking with certain of the businesses they had rearranged their sidewalk tables to allow for the required 42 inches of passage mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
But after two years of dealing with the issue and tweaking the ordinance to make it more palatable, some council members seemed to take the businesses' actions as too little, too late.
The original sidewalk ordinance dates from October 2016 and went into in January 2017. Ever since, city officials have been trying to get the businesses to comply.
In order to sweeten the pot and induce compliance, the council in April 2018 amended another existing ordinance to allow restaurants and other food-serving establishments in the downtown district to serve alcoholic beverages on the sidewalk, provided they met certain conditions.
These conditions were that the alcoholic beverages be served in conjunction with food and that the businesses comply with the requirements of an earlier passed ordinance allowing the placement of seating on the sidewalk. Meaning that the businesses had to apply for the city permit and show proof of a minimum of $300,000 of liability insurance.
For whatever reason, city officials say, the businesses have failed to comply with the requirements.