Panel Eases Proposed Sidewalk Sales Law
A proposal to let business owners hold sidewalk sales without a special city permit has the approval of Thousand Oaks planning commissioners, but with a few changes.
The proposed ordinance was designed to ease restrictions on local merchants, who are now required to obtain city permission before displaying their wares outside. But while commissioners liked the idea, they said the ordinance, as presented at their meeting this week, was too tough on store owners.
Under the original proposal, shopkeepers would still have needed a special permit to display their merchandise on tables, benches or racks outside a store. Only displays that could stand alone, and stand no taller than 6 feet, would have been allowed without a permit.
“To restrict this just to those items that can stand on their own is discriminatory,” Commissioner Marilyn Carpenter said.
As rewritten by the commission, the proposal would allow rack and table displays and would set 12 feet as the height limit for most displays.
The proposed ordinance must now go to the City Council for review.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
