Riverdale council approves seasonal-sales code change and four city measures in unanimous votes

Riverdale City Council on April 15 approved an amendment to the city code on temporary seasonal sales and three other items — a waterline construction contract, a nonexclusive city-property agreement with a volunteer cycling group and a policy for accommodating special‑needs participants in city programs. All four measures passed unanimously.

The most detailed discussion centered on Ordinance 992, which revises Riverdale City Code 10-9-10-19-9 to clarify and expand the circumstances under which temporary structures for seasonal sales are allowed. Planning staff presented the draft change and Kenny McFarland, petitioner for McFarland Farms, answered questions about how the revision would affect farm stands. The ordinance will allow seasonal sales of fresh fruits and vegetables (including sales of some items purchased from other growers) in the C-3 commercial zone as well as in A-1 agricultural zones on the producer's property, subject to a temporary-use permit and site standards. The council adopted the planning commission's recommended limits: a maximum duration of 20 weeks per year, standard hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., a self-contained structure not to exceed 200 square feet, and limits on proximity (no more than one per site and 500 feet spacing along a roadway). The council also directed that vendors who are not state-exempt agricultural producers must present a state sales-tax certificate at application; the city will honor state sales-tax exemptions for producers and eligible nursery Christmas-tree…