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Politics & Government

Market Vote Delayed After Panel Request for Reconfiguration

The Planning & Zoning Commission voted 4-1 to delay a decision on the farmers market permit pending several possible changes to its layout, including the removal of trucks and a change to booth layout.

Dozens packed into City Hall on Tuesday night to ask to approve the Albany farmers market permit for the 2012 season. 

The permit request stumbled in November after several nearby merchants said the business was , limiting visibility, clogging parking and causing noise.

Many local residents and other Albany business owners came out Tuesday to say the market had quickly become a community institution that should be supported rather than questioned. 

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Some said, rather than limit visibility, the market helped them discover new businesses in an area, on Solano Avenue just west of San Pablo, known for minimal foot traffic. 

A number of business owners, including the executive director of the Albany Chamber of Commerce, said sales increased around town on market days in 2011.

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After more than an hour of public testimony about the market, the Planning & Zoning Commission voted 4-1 to delay a decision about whether to renew the market's permit for 2012. 

Commissioner Phillip Moss cast the lone dissenting vote, saying after the meeting that he was ready to move the application forward. He agreed with other commissioners, however, that several changes needed to be made or investigated.

Commissioners said they heard from many residents, loud and clear, that the market helped build community and offered a space for people to come together socially, as well as a convenient spot to buy healthy food. 

They said that, despite an exhaustive search, the 2011 location seemed to be the only one on the table and that it brought many benefits to much of the neighborhood, and Albany as a whole.

Several said, however, that the market would be improved for everyone if organizer The Ecology Center could look into removing tall, and sometimes unsightly, merchant trucks from the block. 

Commissioners also asked whether the market could be reconfigured such that merchant booths were located in a central lane, allowing visitors to circulate around the vendors while, at the same time, have access to the surrounding sidewalks and nearby businesses.

In response to complaints from several nearby businesses, city staff recommended that the market ban all live entertainment and music.  

Several members of the public said performers such as clowns should certainly be allowed to remain, and that perhaps musicians could simply be located further away from businesses that were disturbed.

Market organizer, and Albany resident, Ben Feldman said he would investigate their suggestions.

Feldman also offered impacted businesses several opportunities to raise public awareness about their offices during market time. (Last season the market took place Wednesdays from 3-7 p.m.)

Commissioners did not set a date for their vote, but city staff said it could likely take place at the next Planning & Zoning Commission meeting, on March 27 at 7:30 p.m.

See live tweets from the meeting in the attached PDF. The March 13 staff report also is attached to this story. 

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