Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ordinance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves walking-tour permit rules, liability requirements and penalties
Summary
Council adopted amendments to the city’s walking‑tour ordinance to replace a ‘license’ with a permit, allow fee-setting via the annual budget schedule, require liability safeguards, limit stationary commercial hawking, and add penalties for noncompliance.
The Jefferson City Council approved amendments to Chapter 22, Article 5 governing walking tours in the city. The amendments reclassify the prior 'license' as a permit and permit the city to set fees via an annual budget fee schedule (the current fee is $150). The revisions also clarify that walking‑tour operators should conduct commercial activities on private property unless engaged in an active, moving tour; require walking-tour businesses to carry liability protections and to instruct customers to avoid excessive noise and trespass on private yards; and add penalties for operating without a permit or falsifying permit information.
City Attorney George Hyde summarized the principal changes and recommended that fee levels be reviewed annually as part of the budget process: "We changed it from ... a license ... and so this should be appropriately a permit," he said. Council members debated whether more public review time was needed before adopting an amended ordinance; one council member asked for future agendas to include potential ordinances online before the meeting to allow for public comment. The mayor Pro Tem noted the ordinance amends a penal provision and that the city will publish the caption in the newspaper before effectiveness as required by law.
A motion to adopt the updated ordinance passed by voice vote. Council members said they will consider additional process changes — such as posting upcoming ordinance drafts in advance — to increase public notice on future ordinance items.
What happens next: staff will publish the ordinance caption as required and incorporate the permit fee into the budget fee schedule as appropriate.
