Glens Falls council adopts revisions to peddling rules after vendor objections over fees

Glens Falls City Common Council on April 8 approved a local law amending city code Chapter 156 governing peddling, soliciting and transient merchants and adopted a youth peddling fee schedule after several vendors and market organizers raised concerns during a public hearing.

Supporters of the change and city staff said the amendments update fee sections 156-17 (license fees for peddlers) and 156-35 (mobile food unit fees) and aim to clarify administration; opponents at the hearing said the code remains confusing and that some fees are out of step with actual city costs.

Eric Unkoff, a Glens Falls business owner, told the council he had emailed repeatedly about Chapter 156 and urged clearer exemptions and fee logic. “If the city is able to establish a one-week permit for $25 for a food vendor, then what is the additional cost to the city to issue, say, a permit for [the farmers] market that takes place over 17 weeks?” he said. Unkoff pointed to the county Department of Health’s $30 permit practice and questioned a proposed $100 flat fee in the draft local law.

Tom Roach, a member of the Fort Evans Farmers Market Association board, said uncertainty over a Maple Street permit and construction timelines was harming vendors’ businesses and planning. “Some of our members are saying, ‘Is Glens Falls welcoming us?’” Roach said, asking the city for clearer scheduling and earlier communication.

Another vendor said a food-truck operator was charged $500 for a six-month permit after the council discussion in March and that the vendor was unsure whether the city’s direction would change. “These vendors have their schedules planned for the year; if you scare them off, they’ll go to other events,” the vendor said.

City responses at the hearing said staff will compile event schedules and work with organizers to avoid conflicts, and the council noted the draft local law seeks to standardize fees and exemptions. The clerk’s materials and staff emails referenced an exemption clause in 156-13 for farm and certain charitable vendors; commenters said that clause’s current wording is confusing and asked for a code cleanup.

The council passed the local law amending Chapter 156 and a youth peddling fee schedule during a roll-call vote later in the meeting.

The council directed staff to review the exemption language in section 156-13, continue outreach to market organizers about scheduling and to provide clearer fee guidance for multi-event vendors. No changes to the Department of Health permitting process were enacted by the council; vendors and staff were instructed to coordinate on permit logistics.

Votes at the meeting included the local-law adoption and the youth vendor-fee schedule; those votes are listed in the meeting’s “Votes at a glance” summary.

The council asked staff to return with cleaned-up code language and a fee schedule that clarifies weekly, seasonal and single-event permits and explicitly lists exemptions.