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Resident and code officer clash over roadside bakery stand; council directs code process
Summary
A Jeffersontown resident, citing Kentucky cottage-food rules, told the council her roadside bakery stand was cited by code enforcement. City staff said the matter belongs before the code enforcement board; the council and staff also received an update that the Ledbury property is being cleaned up.
Julie Simon, a Jeffersontown resident who operates a home bakery, told the City Council on May 20 that city code enforcement had cited her roadside stand and that she wanted help resolving the matter so she could continue serving neighbors.
Simon said her stand was built last year, is under 200 square feet, has no electricity and is intended to be moved when not in use. “I am here this evening to ask for help on how to keep my roadside roadside stand open and willing to work with whoever I need in order to get a resolution to continue to serve my community and to be able to follow the rules of J Town at the same time,” she told the council.
Ron Miller, Jeffersontown’s code enforcement officer, said his office had received a complaint, found the structure secured to the ground and issued a notice of violation. “When I received the complaint about the structure in the front yard, it was in the ground permanently,” Miller said. He described researching the state’s cottage-food rules and said staff advised Simon she needed a local business license and a home-occupation permit if she would operate from her home; Miller said the permit limits outdoor activity and that the appropriate forum to resolve the citation is the code enforcement board.
Mayor Pike told Simon a straightforward option would be to sell from the city’s farmers market. “You bring your bread up here, and you sell it up here. Debbie gives you a place, and all this is over with,” the mayor said during the discussion.
City staff also gave a brief update on the Ledbury property, saying inspections showed the interior was being cleaned and that progress had been made. “Just give you an update on the Ledbury property…Everything went fine. They are getting some of it cleaned up,” Mister Fisher said when reporting to the council.
No fine has been imposed in Simon’s case; Miller said the office issued a notice of violation and recommended the matter go to the code enforcement board for resolution. Simon said she purchased a Jeffersontown business license after being told she needed one and that she is willing to work with staff to comply with local rules; she also said she pays fees to other markets and sought a local solution because neighbors prefer a nearby source for fresh bread.
The council did not take a formal vote on Simon’s case; council members and staff encouraged her to pursue the code enforcement board process and offered the farmers market as a practical alternative while the violation is resolved.
Background: Simon said she was cited after a March 19 notice and that code officers also cited an expired tag and a flat tire on a vehicle at the home; she said she has moved trash cans to the backyard and removed the stand when directed. Miller told the council he read the cottage-food rules and explained local permit requirements to Simon and her attorney.
What’s next: Simon was advised to appear before the Jeffersontown code enforcement board to cure or contest the notice of violation or to pursue the farmers market option if she wishes to avoid a hearing.
