11 and 3 year old girls fight zoning ordinance

Article w/ video report. In the video, the mayor calls the girls self-centered.

Young girls fight produce stand closure

Spoiler:

CLAYTON, CA (KGO) -- Two young East Bay girls are trying to find out if you really can fight city hall. The youngsters are battling to get their produce stand back after the city of Clayton shut them down.

The mayor himself is getting involved in this issue; he says the produce stand, operated by two young sisters, had to be shut down because of public safety and a zoning ordinance. But members of the Lewis family say - we have just begun to fight.

On a Clayton street corner is where 11-year-old Katie and 3-year- old Sabrina Lewis had been selling their families surplus fruits and veggies - stuff like:

"Zucchini, melons, tomatoes, radishes," said Sabrina Lewis.

They did it for maybe four hours on Saturday mornings to make a little money. They haven't sold a thing since the police showed up recently in response to one complaint to the mayor's office.

"They said traffic was being stopped and then they came up with we can't have a roadside stand and then they said it was a commercial enterprise," said Katie Lewis, former produce seller.

As for the traffic issue, neighbor Terri Highsmith says there isn't one.

"On the weekends is when I mostly notice them selling. I come and go a lot and I've never seen any traffic problems," said Highsmith.

Clayton Mayor Gregg Manning disagrees. And wonders what Katie and Sabrina might do with that produce stand if the zoning laws weren't enforced.

"They may start out with a little card-table and selling a couple of things, but then who is to say what else they have. Is all the produce made there, do they make it themselves? Are they going to have eggs and chickens for sale next," said Manning.

Lucky for Katie and Sabrina their folks don't have lemon trees.

"Lemonade stands are technically illegal, but they don't last long enough to do anything about," said Manning.

"I was extremely shocked," said Mike Lewis, father of Katie and Sabrina.

The girls' father is speaking about the city's decision to enforce the letter of the law, and run his girls out of business.

"There is always exceptions and compromises and ways to go around it. To this day, I haven't seen anything except 'no, you can't do it,'" said Mike Lewis.

"I wish everyone would follow the rules and not be just self-centered," said Manning.

"I've called the mayor a couple of times and he won't talk to me at all," said Mike Lewis.

"He knows the rules and chose to ignore them," said Manning.

"Why is this a problem?"

That last comment from one of the people who has signed a petition to bring the produce stand back. The petition circulated by its author 11-year old Katie, suddenly the voice of reason in the middle of a controversy that's growing faster than:

"That big pumpkin over there," said Katie Lewis.

And that's getting bigger by the day.

Mr. Lewis says he has approached the city planning commission - hoping to find a compromise making one last stand for his girls' produce stand. City planners meet next week - we will keep you posted.

Note: article is mostly a transcript of the video report, with one exception bolded

Jam it back in, in the dark.

The biggest reason that they have a chance to win is because nobody really wants to fight two pre-pubescent girls and their bear of a father.

Grown-up entrepreneurs get buttfucked because moneyed interests have an eye on their business or want to redevelop their property, and will use government connections to get what they want.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Shin

Whilst I agree that this is a somewhat extreme reaction by the mayor's office, introducing an element of leaway on laws like this opens you up to abuse by bigger companies who will use any potential victory by these kids as a loophole when they want to open a store in a residential area without planning permission.

The mayor has approached this all teh wrong way but I imagine it was at the behest of his legal advisors that he stomped on this in the first place.

Fuck city planners.

Second, making exceptions for out of home businesses is highly distinct from an incorporated entity plopping an establishment smack dab in the middle of a bunch of McMansions. There are also workarounds that can deal with advertising issues.

Giving these girls leeway isn't going to generate any more significant loopholes to be exploited, because if businesses wanted those loopholes they'd already exist. If they wanted to develop in the middle of a residential zone they'd do their best to have the area re-zoned.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

If wasting money was the objective there's already little to stop them from doing just that.

The fact these kids and their dad can even fight it in the first place is proof of it. Regardless of what you think of the law, it's obvious that the best course of action for the mayor would have been to not enforce it at all.

Of course, California has a problem in general with small time food vendors. See also L.A.'s black market bacon dog vendors.

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