Fiscal Note
There will likely be a small increase in General Fund revenues of perhaps $500 - $1,000 annually derived from permit fees and forfeitures.
Title
Creating Section 9.53, and amending Sections 10.25, 1.08(3)(a), and 1.08(4) of the Madison General Ordinances to allow information tables and vending of expressive items on city sidewalks, creating permits and designated sites for the same, creating permits for mobile vending of expressive items, and establishing bail deposits for violations.
Body
DRAFTER'S ANALYSIS: Section 10.25(1) currently prohibits the placement of articles on the sidewalk and terrace. The list of prohibited items includes “any cask, box, crate, wood, stone, plank, boards, goods, wares, merchandise, ashes, bottles, cans or other substances or materials.” This has the effect of prohibiting the use of tables to distribute literature or other expressive items on city sidewalks. The street vending ordinance (Sec. 9.13) prohibits on-street sales without a street vending license. In the areas surrounding the Capitol and State Street, a street vending license is only available for homemade food and handcrafted items, and vending can only be conducted from assigned sites. Food vendors compete for a site through the annual, juried, food cart review process. Craft vendors choose from among a limited number of sites. The sites are established by the Vending Oversight Committee. Street vending in other parts of the city is also limited to assigned sites only and certain days of the week (i.e. Southeast Campus, Camp Randall High Density, UW Game Day vending areas.) This ordinance creates a new process so that persons wishing to use a table to hand out literature or other noncommercial materials, collect signatures or petitions, or vend expressive items, can do so and not violate Sec. 10.25 or the street vending ordinances. Specifically, this ordinance would: (1) clarify the current prohibition against placing articles on the sidewalk;...
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