Yard and garage sellers in the Michigan city of Walker had a win last week when the local council shelved a months-old proposal to regulate home-based sales.
Walker’s City Commission voted 6-1 to shelve the ordinance indefinitely after a vote to approve the ordinance failed 2-5. Commissioner Cyndy Stek cast the lone dissenting vote to shelve the regulation, because she favored throwing it out altogether.
The proposal had been reviewed twice by the Planning Commission before being sent to the overarching City Commission.
Mayor Rob VerHeulen said he did not support the ordinance, which would have restricted garage sales to three days each, no more than three times a year.
He favored at least four times per year and wanted an exemption for sales of produce, such as residents selling vegetables or flowers from their gardens.
"I have a hard time banning the fruit stand," VerHeulen said.
Commissioner Chuck Deschaine, who also rejected the ordinance, said it could not be enforced without major problems for the building and police departments.
While the ordinance is effectively dead, it could come back to the commission for consideration if garage sales become a nuisance.