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BACKGROUND: Currently transient merchants, persons selling merchandise along roadways, are regulated by two portions of the County's codes of laws and ordinances: 1. Chapter 15: Licensing and License Taxes which requires/re- gulates the issuance of occupational licenses; and. 2. General Provisions. section of the zoning code which re- quires/regulates the issuances of temporary use permits. Over the past year, the regulations found in Chapter 15 and General Provisions have proven to be uncoordinated and too general to properly regulate the types of transient merchant requests being handled by staff. Existing Chapter 15 regulations broadly define transient merchants and allow for all types of -sales operations along roadways within agricultural, commercial and industrial zoning districts. Such operations, as long as they are not conducted from permanent structures requiring building permits, are permitted without site plan approval even though the enterprise may have many of the characteristics of a permanent establishment. Current General Provisions temporary use permit regulations address general nuisance, hazard, and traffic conditions but do not apply specific criteria (standards) or specifically limit uses. Staff has drafted an ordinance to amend both Chapter 15 and the General Provisions section to coordinate transient merchant regulations and to address problems with existing "loopholes" that allow commercial development without proper limitations and safeguards. A public workshop was held on December 1, 1986 to discuss the proposed ordinance. Several transient merchants and other interested parties attended the workshop. Many of the suggestions made at the workshop have been incorporated into the attached proposed ordinance. At their regular meeting of February 12, 1987, the Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Board adopt the proposed ordinance. At the February 14th meeting, the Commission directed staff to make some minor changes in the draft ordinance. These changes (see attachment #2) have been incor- porated into the proposed ordinance. ANALYSIS: Although many other urban` or urbanizing counties in the state prohibit roadside stands (see attached #1), the proposed ordinance would limit transient merchants to operating fruit and vegetable sales and seasonal sales (Christmas tree sales, for example) while ensuring adequate temporary access and parking facilities. The proposed ordinance also prohibits the use of any structures (as defined in the zoning code) by transient merchants, thereby clearly delineating the boundary between transient merchant operations and operations requiring site plan approval. The following is a brief summary of each section of the proposed ordinance (see attachment #3). Section 1 Changes are made to prohibit the use of structures, as defined in the zoning code, and to ensure that all sales facilities are temporary and can be transported. Language is also added to allow exemptions for uses such as mobile ice cream sales. 48 BOOK -11 P,s F 57?