AJC Exclusive: Fees, permits surprise city's farmers markets

By Meridith Ford Goldman

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Five not-for-profit farmers markets in Atlanta are embroiled in a battle to stay open, fighting permit fees and complying willingly with safety regulations they never knew existed.

After two formal complaints were filed to Mayor Kasim Reed’s office, a representative from Atlanta Fire & Rescue showed up at the Morningside Farmers Market on April 24.

“I asked the gentleman if I could help him, and he said he was there to follow up on a complaint that we were not compliant with certain city permits. And I thought, ‘What permits?’ ” explained Dave Bentoski, the farmer at D&A Farm in Zebulon and a board member of the Morningside market.

Mandy Mahoney, Atlanta's director of sustainability, said the city wants to work with the markets, not close them.

“The city is now looking at the current treatment under law as to how these markets have been in operation,” said Mahoney. “What we’ve learned is that there were never really any regulations in place in the first place.”

Five markets are affected: Morningside Farmers Market, East Lake Market, East Atlanta Village Market, Peachtree Road Farmers Market and SWOOM (Southwest Outdoor Organic Market). Morningside has already complied with the requirements given to it on April 24, including providing the city with an event layout that includes an emergency plan, as well as a tent fee of $66.

But the popular vegetable and fruit market -- the oldest of its kind in the city and Atlanta’s only certified organic market -- also faces new quarterly fees of up to $300 for the market. That's pretty steep for folks who farm for a living.

Peachtree Road is complying with the city’s demand to have an off-duty police officer on the premises, since the market is considered large enough to hold 250 people or more at one time. The fee? $150 weekly.

“We want to do everything we can to cooperate with the city of Atlanta, especially in regard to safety issues,” said Jessica Given, Morningside’s manager, “but we don’t want to be hit with fees that simply become a revenue source for the city.”

The not-for-profit markets in Atlanta use vendor fees to pay for administrative costs. They comply with regulations from the state Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health. But Atlanta is placing these producer-only and near-producer-only markets in the same category as a special event, requiring the same fees and permits that a for-profit entity such as the Atlantic Station Market would have to comply with.

“We’d really like our own category -- we are farmers, not event managers,” said Bentoski.

Gina Hopkins, manager and co-owner with husband Linton Hopkins of Restaurant Eugene and Holeman & Finch in Atlanta, said, “When we started Peachtree Road Farmers Market in 2007, we had to look at cities like Seattle and New York for guidelines, because there was really nothing in place for Atlanta.”

In Marietta, Johnny Fulmer, market manager for the Marietta Square Farmers Market, said the not-for-profit market must have a single permit from the city to hold the market each week. The permit, which runs from the first Saturday in May through the last Saturday in November, is renewed once a year.

Vendors pay a $10 per Saturday fee to cover the cost of advertising, Web site and insurance. With some exceptions, any profits they make at the market are theirs to take home minus taxes, Fulmer said.

Fulmer said he talks to the state Department of Agriculture at least once a week to make sure they are on top of regulations.

In Atlanta, Mahoney has gathered various agencies together to develop a plan.

“The first phase is to get everyone current on codes and zoning,” she said. “The second phase is to improve the laws governing these markets and create new laws that are specific to their needs. We will be making recommendations to the mayor’s office.”

Staff writer Nedra Rhone contributed to this article.