Cayce entrepreneur asks council to ease overlay rules on inflatable displays

Ju'Juan Belgrave, owner-operator of The Party and Event Store at 901 Knox Abbott Drive, presented to Cayce City Council on Aug. 20 to seek relief or clarification about the city’s overlay-district rules after staff told him his outdoor inflatable displays would violate the ordinance and could trigger fines.

Belgrave said he was a new business and that an adjacent business appears to be grandfathered and can display rental equipment outside. "I was told that my inflatables being displayed were promoting sale, and that was against the overlay district rules," Belgrave said, and he asked whether rules written decades ago should be applied the same way to new businesses.

He described his community involvement — including contributing about 1,500 items to a Back to School Bash, sponsoring the Brookland Cayce Band and partnering with roughly 44 local businesses in the first three months of operation — and asked Council to consider options that would not “stifle” his business. Belgrave said safety measures were in place: his inflatables are secured with 100-pound weights to concrete.

Before the presentation began, Municipal Clerk Mendy Corder read the city’s speaker guidance to remind presenters that Council would listen but not engage in back-and-forth questions.

Council did not take immediate regulatory action during the meeting; the presentation was recorded for council and staff consideration. Next steps: City staff may review the overlay district rules and the grandfathering status of nearby properties and return clarification to the business owner and Council.