Hot Dog Vendor Looking to Change 'Ridiculous' Montville Ordinance

This summer, Gary Murphy, who was on the Montville Town Council at the time, had a hot dog stand on Rt. 32, between the McDonalds and the Mobile Gas Station.

But at the end of August, the town ruled that he was in in violation of Montville’s ordinance that regulates peddlers, vendors and solicitors, and he was told he couldn't have his hot dog stand there. He left, but now Murphy is pushing to get that ordinance changed.

The law reads that no vendor can be within a mile of any brick-and-mortar business, an ordinance that almost no other town has, Economic Development Commission Chairman Albert Skulczyck said Monday night. The EDC has been charged with reviewing the ordinance.

“It is so outdated, its ridiculous,” Skulczyck said.

In March, the Montville Town Council discussed changing the ordinance, but business owners came out against it, saying that venders and peddlers will steal their customers and hurt their businesses. The Town Council voted to table a decision on the matter, and sent it to the Economic Development Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission for review.

The EDC discussed the ordinance Monday night, with the members agreeing that the town should not make laws to favor one type of business over another. Instead, they said they should just figure out a way to have venders sell their goods safely. 

“Public safety should be the focus of the new ordinance,” said Montville Town Councilor Chuck Longton, who said the ordinance was not business-friendly. “And beyond that, making it as business-friendly as humanly possible for anyone who wants to do business in the town.” 

The EDC said they will look at other ordinances in other towns and have Montville's ordinance follow those. They agreed to rework the ordinance at their next meeting.

Specifics 

Longton, who attended the EDC meeting Monday night, said the current ordinance was “fraught with things that are not fair to street vendors or shop owners.” He said the way the law is written, many people are in technically in violation of it, and Skulczyck said there is no ordinance like it in the area.

The ordinance reads that no peddler or vender can be within a mile of a bricks-and-mortar business, even if they have owner permission to be there, Longton said. Murphy said for his hot dog stand, he was paying the owner of the lot rent to be there, but it was still illegal.

However, Murphy said that by the same standard, an ice cream truck going through the Montville Manor would be illegal, because parts of the Manor are within a mile of a store. Also, he said that the event doesn’t take into account venders for special events or parades and other exceptions.

Longton said the town should pass an ordinance that just makes sure venders and peddlers are operating safely, but doesn’t hurt their business. He argued that it is not the government’s job to pick winners and losers in business, but instead to ensure the safety of the public and be fair to all.

"(Brick-and-mortar businesses and peddlers) are both legitimate businesses,” Longton said. “They both pay property taxes on what they have.”