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Committee approves moving farmers-market and Alameda flea-market fee changes to full Board
Summary
The Rules Committee forwarded an ordinance that moves Alameda Farmers Market management to the Director of Property and standardizes and raises stall and vendor fees; supervisors and residents asked about outreach and neighborhood impacts.
The Rules Committee voted to forward an ordinance updating how the city operates the Alameda Farmers Market and the Alameda flea market and to authorize modest fee increases.
Claudia Gorman of the Real Estate Division explained the measure would transfer operational responsibility for city-owned markets to the Director of Property, allow the director to approve and refuse permits, create an advisory committee, set stall and vendor fees more in line with comparable markets, and authorize trespass enforcement and inspection fees. Under the proposal, stall fees would be standardized at $50 per day year-round, vendor/food-truck daily fees would rise to $85 (from $60), and market certification fees would be raised (e.g., up to $1,500 for markets with more than 45 vendors). The revisions would allow the Department of Public Health to waive certification fees for city-operated markets.
Supervisors asked about outreach to existing farmers and vendors; Gorman said there had been informal outreach and that many vendors expected the changes. Public commenters from the surrounding neighborhoods said the market is historic and valuable to the community; speakers also encouraged attention to site activation on non-market days to reduce illegal use of the large Alameda site.
The committee sent the item to the full Board with a positive recommendation.
