On Aug. 5 Stone Harbor Council approved the addition of two new pop-up markets on Wednesdays for the popular farmers market held Sundays at the water tower lot.
Opposition from councilwoman Robin Casper forced the resolution off the consent agenda, setting up a separate vote with the plan gaining yes votes from four of the other five council members and one abstention.
The additional days for the farmers market will be Wednesday, Aug. 13, and Wednesday, Aug. 27. Councilwoman Bernadette “Bunny” Parzych called the addition of the two weekday dates to this year’s market a test to see if an expanded schedule is something the council should approve permanently next year.
Some members of the public said the council might be acting in haste, without due consideration of how the weekday market might impact immediately adjacent businesses that may need their back-of-the-store access to the parking lot or how a weekday event might affect established businesses along 96th Street in terms of competition.
Parzych argued that much more discussion would be needed before weekday markets could be approved next year, but she felt comfortable that two pop-up market days added this year would not cause disruption in the business district.
