Politics & Government

Farmers Market Expansion Approved

Once, the expansion plan drew crowds of nearby shop owners to City Hall in opposition. This time, they wrote a letter in support.

A once highly critiqued plan to expand the Old Town Farmers Market has been quietly approved.

The Old Town Steering Committee, made up of Mayor Ron Roberts and Councilman Mike Naggar, agreed Tuesday to recommend that the City Council shut down a portion of Sixth Street near Mercedes Street Saturday mornings to let the market expand into a portion of the road.

A similar plan was introduced in Oct. 2007, but dozens of shopkeepers from Old Town crowded City Hall to protest the plan.

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Local merchants complained to the that the Farmers Market would steal business from them.

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The city ultimately dropped the plan because it lacked the funds to support it.

When it came time to renew the contract for the original Farmers Market, the city addressed the concern of local merchants that the outdoor bazaar was turning into a flea market.

Regulations were introduced to mandate what could be sold at the market.

The most expensive element of the 2007 plan -- removable barriers on Sixth Street strategically placed to block traffic -- were deleted from the plan.

"We worked out a reasonable (in price) method to close the street safely," said Assistant City Manager Aaron Adams.

The plan will have to go to the for final approval before the expansion happens, which will likely be next month. The market's organizers will foot the bill for closing the street, Adams said.

The steering committee got a letter of support for the plan from the Old Town Association, the Riverside Transit Agency and the Greyhound bus company, according to Adams.


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