City proposes designated space at Muskegon Farmers Market for community groups; commission to vote at next meeting

City staff presented a draft policy to allow community organizations to set up in a designated open area inside the Muskegon Farmers Market and asked the commission to review the proposal before formal consideration at the next meeting.

The proposal matters because it seeks a middle ground between protecting vendors’ commercial space and accommodating free-speech and nonprofit outreach inside the market.

The city clerk explained that, historically, noncommercial outreach was limited to the sidewalk outside the market but that recent legal review and market staff conversations produced a…