Resident suggests streamlining solicitor/peddler permit, proposes temporary farmers market

Bernard Garcia, a North Ridgeville resident, asked council Aug. 4 to consider streamlining the city’s solicitor and peddler permit application to make it easier for small, informal sellers and elderly residents to comply. Garcia said his 84-year-old grandmother found the current application difficult to navigate and proposed simplifying the process for backyard produce sellers and small vendors.

Garcia also suggested the city explore a temporary farmers market next year — possibly a small, planned marketplace that could be tested at a city-owned site — and said community gardens and local makers could benefit from such a venue. He said that if the pilot were successful the city could expand it into a recurring community market.

City staff did not make a formal commitment at the meeting but the mayor and council thanked Garcia for the suggestion. No ordinance or administrative change was introduced; any permit-process changes would require staff review and possible modification to permit forms or procedures.