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Council extends mobile-vendor moratorium, proposes Davis Park vending hub
Summary
Staff proposed extending a moratorium on mobile-vendor permits to allow drafting clearer code; the council approved the extension and staff outlined a plan to concentrate vendors at a Davis Park hub with annual and single-event permits.
City staff asked the council to extend a moratorium on new mobile-vendor permits while the city rewrites its mobile-vendor rules to be clearer, enforceable and consistent with Georgia Department of Public Health guidance.
City Manager Gail described the proposal to create a designated mobile-vendor hub in the Davis Park back parking lot and to introduce a new peddler license category for prepackaged retail items. Under the plan, annual mobile-vendor permits would cost $500 and one-day special-event permits $250, and staff said they would mark off lot spaces and consider hours aligned with park operations.
Council members raised questions about exclusivity, impacts on special events (for example, the annual car rally) and whether the arrangement would restrict vendors who currently operate in different downtown locations. Staff said permanent, currently permitted vendors would not be displaced immediately but that renewal applicants would be asked to comply with the new Davis Park requirements when the ordinance takes effect.
The council voted to extend the moratorium to the Nov. 17 meeting (the date staff said they planned to return with an ordinance introduction) and asked staff to return with detailed permit language and parking/route plans.
