Strollerderby
Update: Planning Commission Re-Opens Girls’ Veggie Stand, Despite Mayor’s Objection
Last week, I posted about 11-year-old Katie Lewis and her 3-year-old sister, Sabrina, whose wholesome little vegetable stand was crushed under the boot of a mayor categorically opposed to education, enterprise and fun.
Or maybe Mayor Gregg Manning was just zealously enforcing Clayton, California’s zoning regulations – which prohibit garage sales and even lemonade stands in residential neighborhoods.
People around the country were so outraged about the fate of this poor veggie stand and the girls who were just trying to save a little money for college that Clayton’s Planning Commission has come to the rescue. Members decided Tuesday night to loosen the regulations to allow such stands. But they didn’t stop there. Because it will take about six months for the new laws to come into effect, the Commission voted to give the Lewis girls an exemption that would allow them to operate their stand in the interim.
And Commandant Mayor Manning is not happy about the special privilege extended to the Lewis family, calling it, “a miscarriage of justice.”
Look, Mayor Manning is probably right that the Planning Commission should not write laws that benefit only particular individuals. But in this case, the original law that closed the veggie stand in the first place was too strict. And, somehow, I suspect that if other kids in Clayton wanted to open their own little stands before the law is officially changed, the Commission would be okay with that too.
I should add that Mike Lewis, the girls’ father, is more concerned with restoring peace to the community than having his girls get special consideration, noting, “I don’t need a special agreement. I don’t need to have people upset with me . . . We can wait until the commission sorts everything out.” He has also agreed to try to work on the traffic situation in front of the stand that caused a neighbor to complain to the police in the first place.
Does anyone else think this story would make a great Dr. Seuss book???
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2 Comments
asflutz commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amNote: This is a stock photo . . . no actual photo of Katie or Sabrina Lewis was available. Sorry for the confusion.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amOmigod, that photograph is right out of a book! I understand why all those people were stopping – I’d stop and buy my veggies from her too! And I think her dad is teaching her another very important lesson by saying their family doesn’t need any special favors. The mayor otoh is an idiot.
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