Manassas To Vote on Ice Cream Peddlers

Say so long to the ice cream man in Manassas.

The City Council's land use committee agreed to repeal later this month the law that allows for ice cream, taco and produce peddlers. They plan to craft an ordinance, in time for Halloween, that would allow peddlers only at the local farmers market or festivals, or for seasonal items such as fireworks, pumpkins and Christmas trees.

"There are some who are saying we are outlawing the Good Humor man," council member Marc T. Aveni (R) said at Thursday's meeting. He said these peddlers are not "the Good Humor man I grew up with."

Because of a rise in complaints, council members said, the city is trying to stop moving vendors such as operators of ice cream pushcarts and people selling things from roving trucks, as well as stationary peddlers such as the seafood and taco trucks found in the parking lot of the Georgetown South shopping center.

"Who are these people?" asked Steve Thomas, operations chairman for Help Save Manassas, a group that opposes illegal immigration. "Are they legal to work in the U.S.?"

Thomas said he has lived all over the world and "seen the street vendors and those types of things in different cultures the world."

"That is not part of Manassas culture," he said. "And I think that their efforts detract from the attractiveness of the city." Thomas added: "If I wanted to live in that type of environment, I would have chosen to live overseas."

Other residents have expressed concern about food safety and whether the vendors have criminal histories. Certification from the Virginia Department of Health is required for peddlers who prepare food, and criminal background checks are conducted before permits are granted, officials said.

Council member Andrew L. Harrover (R) said that he has heard some residents say "they are just trying to earn a living" and that he has heard from others who "want them arrested and thrown into a dungeon or worse."

The committee originally requested that the full council act on the repeal at tomorrow's council meeting. However, City Manager Lawrence D. Hughes said, "This is a knee-jerk reaction, and you need to let us look at this."

For example, community development director Elizabeth S. Via was not sure whether the stationary peddlers, who in addition to their permits are officially zoned as retail establishments, would be grandfathered into city law.

The 14 people who paid $500 for a permit this year will be allowed to operate their businesses until the permit expires. Police will continue to use discretion in enforcing the existing law, which states that no peddler can sell wares on public streets or sidewalks or in parks, said Police Chief John J. Skinner, whose office has received 14 complaints about ice cream pushcart vendors since May.

Officers who respond to complaints about the vendors will verify that the individual is licensed and will explain the law, Skinner said. However, in many neighborhoods that have homeowners associations, the streets are considered private, and therefore the peddlers would be legal unless the associations take separate action, he said.

Skinner warned the council to be cautious, saying, "You are going to hear a lot about this."