News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
At least some folks in the Sisters community want the City of Sisters to make things tougher for transient vendors - people who come into town on a temporary permit to set up a tent and peddle their wares.
Some businesspeople feel that transient vendors take away shoppers' dollars without having the responsibility of keeping a business going and supporting the community day-in and day-out.
Last Tuesday, the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a forum on transient vendors at Sisters Fire Hall, where businesspeople and city staff hashed out ideas for addressing concerns on the issue.
It quickly became clear that the focus of concern centers around one day: Quilt Show. Last summer, 33 permits were issued for transient vendors for that one day. Only one was issued for the Sisters Rodeo weekend and one during the Harvest Faire, and one food vendor during the rest of the summer, according to Chamber figures.
The City of Sisters issues transient vendor permits with a $100-per-day fee. Interstate commerce laws prohibit the city from vetting the nature and quality of merchandise.
Vendors set up on private property; the owner must grant written permission. Usually the property or business owner receives a fee from the vendor. Anecdotal reports indicate that those fees can run to $1,500 for Quilt Show day, which makes hosting a vendor an attractive proposition to some business or property owners.
However, what amounts to easy money for one business may cut into the bottom line of a neighbor.
Katherine Leavitt said that, under current law, anyone can come in, set up a tent and siphon off significant amounts of money from the traditional merchants.
"They've now taken $5,000, $10,000 away from the merchants who pay taxes and keep the city going," she said.
The Quilt Show itself dislikes having transient vendors on the streets.
"We feel the tents, displays and sale of transient vendor items detracts from the overall visual appeal of the show," said Quilt Show Executive Director Ann Richardson in a letter to the city. "We are disappointed to see transient vendors come into town for one day and take potential business away from our show sponsors, the local businesses. We have received feedback from visitors and local merchants that the show has lost its visual impact and has more of a carnival feel."
No one spoke up to represent vendors or the businesses who host them, though City Manager Eileen Stein said that she hears from businesses for whom transient vendors provide a welcome cash boost.
John Leavitt doesn't like competing against transient vendors just across the street. For one thing, he says, it takes up parking that is sorely needed.
"Doesn't a business have to have a certain amount of parking," he asked. "Last year, the market (Sisters Market) had its parking lot filled up with vendors. The Quilt Show brings a lot of people to town. We need parking."
City Planning Director Eric Porter said the city is "very open to enforcing parking."
In addition to that, participants in the meeting urged the city to consider pushing the deadline for filing for a permit out as far as 30 days and making that deadline firm. They also urged the city to boost the fee significantly and use the proceeds to enforce licensing.
A number of unlicensed vendors set up at the Quilt Show (and sometimes at other events). According to Stein, it's hard for city staff to enforce regulations on occasionally belligerent vendors and the sheriff's office is disinclined to handle code enforcement.
Richard Greene, owner of Richard's Produce, said business neighbors need to talk to each other. He believes that if neighbors realized that hosting transient vendors was hurting their neighbor, they would be less likely to do so.
For Quilt Show founder Jean Wells, the best strategy to minimize transient vendors is to "lobby the property owners." It is their signature, not the business owners', that must be on the permission to site a vendor's tent. She believes that property owners would be inclined to be receptive to appeals to opt out of having vendors on their property.
Transient vendors - licensed or not - were not the only group that came in for some fire from local business people.
Patricia Capps and Katherine Leavitt took a dim view of the street festival staged by Richard Esterman in August, which closed a portion of Oak Street. They argued that the event has the same kind of negative impact on merchants and Capps was harshly critical of the quality and presentation of the event.
Esterman was not present at the meeting.
Stein said the city allows street closures on a case-by-case basis and cannot discriminate based on people's perception of quality. Decisions are based on impact on traffic, Stein said.
Todd Dow, owner of High Desert Gallery on Cascade Avenue, said the street fair had a negative impact on traffic, causing long backups on the street and posing a safety hazard for people crossing Cascade to go to or from the festival.
Chamber Executive Director Erin Borla is compiling suggestions from the workshop to present to the city for possible further policy action.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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