Roadside Vendors

Whenever Lorraine Gray has a hankering for crabs, she sets out for Ritchie Highway.That's where the best live crabs can be found, the Crofton resident said last week as she ordered up a dozen large males from the back of Tony Fernandez's beat-up, blue Ford Ranger."

Cars pulled off Ruxton Road, one after another Monday morning, almost as soon as the first crates of fruits and vegetables were unloaded from the large white truck parked on the shoulder. At the roadside market operated by Hampstead-based Misty Valley Farm, under the shade of a tent, customers filled brown paper bags with tomatoes, peaches, squash and melons. They selected ears of white corn from a pile in the open back of the truck. "I've never gotten a bad piece of fruit," said Megan Kelly of Towson, who stops at the Ruxton stand several times a week, even after work when more than a dozen cars can be lined up on the roadside.

Opponents of an Anne Arundel County Council bill that would regulate roadside vendors would have us believe it will prevent us from buying a fresh peach at a roadside stand ever again. They're as paranoid about this fairly innocuous piece of legislation as gun enthusiasts are about waiting periods; the most minor regulation looks like a conspiracy to put them out of business. In fact, the bill, sponsored by Councilman James E. "Ed" DeGrange, only asks roadside vendors to fulfill the same basic requirements as every other commercial enterprise.

GEORGETOWN, Del. - A quarter-million visitors are about to kick off the summer in Ocean City this weekend; another 150,000 or so will be heading for the Delaware shore. A few miles from the center of this small town about 45 minutes from Ocean City, John Hamstead will be satisfied if he grabs a fraction of their business at the roadside market that has been in his family for three generations. The beach is big business in the resort towns, worth an estimated $1.5 billion a year to Ocean City merchants, more than a half-billion to their Delaware counterparts.

Cars pulled off Ruxton Road, one after another Monday morning, almost as soon as the first crates of fruits and vegetables were unloaded from the large white truck parked on the shoulder. At the roadside market operated by Hampstead-based Misty Valley Farm, under the shade of a tent, customers filled brown paper bags with tomatoes, peaches, squash and melons. They selected ears of white corn from a pile in the open back of the truck. "I've never gotten a bad piece of fruit," said Megan Kelly of Towson, who stops at the Ruxton stand several times a week, even after work when more than a dozen cars can be lined up on the roadside.

For the past three years, Anthony Fernandez and Howard Davis have spent their weekends catching crabs on the Eastern Shore and selling the live crustaceans hours later from a truck parked along Ritchie Highway.The two men say they would be driven out of business by County Councilman James E. "Ed" DeGrange's proposal to license and regulate roadside vendors."This bill is unconstitutional, discriminatory, and it infringes 100 percent on everybody's right to have a livelihood," Mr. Fernandez said.

A proposal to regulate the roadside sale of everything from crabs to velvet Elvises in Anne Arundel County dominated last night's County Council meeting.The council was expected to amend the proposal, which would bar roadside vendors from residential areas and require them to obtain a permit from the county, after more than 90 minutes of testimony raised concerns about potential loopholes and other problems.County Councilman John Klocko, a Crofton Republican, expressed concerns that the bill would ban roadside vendors entirely in southern Anne Arundel, which has little commercial zoning.

A law that roadside peddlers say will put them out of business in Anne Arundel County will go into effect Oct. 1.The County Council voted 6-1 late Monday night to approve legislation that will affect how and where itinerant vendors can park and hawk their wares, whether live crabs, stuffed animals or portraits of Elvis on velvet. Councilman John J. Klocko III, a Crofton Republican, opposed the measure.The new law -- backed by seafood houses and garden shops -- requires roadside merchants to obtain county permits, restricts them to certain commercial areas and requires them to provide safe and adequate parking.

Talk to some Anne Arundel old-timers, and they'll tell you the character of their once mostly rural county has long been typified by the rustic, side-of-the-road stands where vendors hustle everything from crafts to cucumbers to soft-shell crabs.But in recent years, a new county law requiring these small-time merchants to get $250 vending permits is putting some of them out of business, while others who refuse to comply risk $500 fines.Some roadside vendors are outraged, claiming they are being penalized for having a seasonal hobby that makes them a few extra bucks for summer golfing.

The County Council narrowly voted last night to allow roadside vendors to sell their goods in all commercial districts.The majority, councilmen Thomas W. Redmond Sr., Bert L. Rice, William Mulford II and John J. Klocko III, agreed that roadside vendors should be permitted to sell in areas zoned for offices and strip shopping centers, provided that the vendors secure permits and submit to regular inspections.Council members James "Ed" DeGrange, George Bachman and Council Chairwoman Diane R. Evans voted against the bill, arguing that the vendors take business from established concerns.

CHARGING roadside vendors $250 for an annual permit is not onerous. Three years ago the county decided that the proliferation of roadside businesses needed regulation and established an annual fee for these vendors. No one operating a business in a strip mall or a commercial strip in Annapolis would complain if his or her annual rental costs were so minimal.Nevertheless, Vernon Lohrmann Sr. and James Teague believe the county's fee is "overpriced" and "ridiculous" and are campaigning to have the fee lowered.

Talk to some Anne Arundel old-timers, and they'll tell you the character of their once mostly rural county has long been typified by the rustic, side-of-the-road stands where vendors hustle everything from crafts to cucumbers to soft-shell crabs.But in recent years, a new county law requiring these small-time merchants to get $250 vending permits is putting some of them out of business, while others who refuse to comply risk $500 fines.Some roadside vendors are outraged, claiming they are being penalized for having a seasonal hobby that makes them a few extra bucks for summer golfing.

At Jumpers Hole and Elvaton roads, spring has arrived for the past five years aboard an old pink school bus.Each weekend from the vernal equinox through Mother's Day, James Teague has parked his bus -- strung with handmade birdhouses and trailing wooden wishing wells and Easter bunnies -- and hawked his wares to drivers passing through Pasadena.But this spring is likely to be his last at the intersection.Teague, 68, will go out of business because he cannot comply with a 1995 county law that tightened regulations on roadside vendors.

O, Tannenbaum, what will you cost me this season?Well, about the same as last year, say area Christmas tree vendors.The reasons: an ample supply of trees from in-state and out-of-state growers and a slew of competition among seasoned Christmas tree sellers, roadside vendors, and hardware and housewares stores such as Home Depot, Hechinger and Ikea.The latter have jumped into the market, in part to lure customers for other purchases with cut-rate prices on Christmas trees."Prices really haven't gone up in the past three years.

The County Council narrowly voted last night to allow roadside vendors to sell their goods in all commercial districts.The majority, councilmen Thomas W. Redmond Sr., Bert L. Rice, William Mulford II and John J. Klocko III, agreed that roadside vendors should be permitted to sell in areas zoned for offices and strip shopping centers, provided that the vendors secure permits and submit to regular inspections.Council members James "Ed" DeGrange, George Bachman and Council Chairwoman Diane R. Evans voted against the bill, arguing that the vendors take business from established concerns.

Key provisions of a proposal to ease restrictions on roadside vendors may be challenged tonight by several Anne Arundel County Council members.Two members said yesterday that they want to eliminate a proposal that would allow vendors in areas zoned for offices and strip shopping centers. And another is thinking of adding a provision that would require a review after two years to ensure the law is working.James "Ed" DeGrange, a Glen Burnie Democrat, and Council President Diane R. Evans, an Arnold Republican, said it is sensible to allow farmers to sell produce from roadside stands in agricultural districts, but not to allow vendors to operate in all commercial areas.

CHARGING roadside vendors $250 for an annual permit is not onerous. Three years ago the county decided that the proliferation of roadside businesses needed regulation and established an annual fee for these vendors. No one operating a business in a strip mall or a commercial strip in Annapolis would complain if his or her annual rental costs were so minimal.Nevertheless, Vernon Lohrmann Sr. and James Teague believe the county's fee is "overpriced" and "ridiculous" and are campaigning to have the fee lowered.

Key provisions of a proposal to ease restrictions on roadside vendors may be challenged tonight by several Anne Arundel County Council members.Two members said yesterday that they want to eliminate a proposal that would allow vendors in areas zoned for offices and strip shopping centers. And another is thinking of adding a provision that would require a review after two years to ensure the law is working.James "Ed" DeGrange, a Glen Burnie Democrat, and Council President Diane R. Evans, an Arnold Republican, said it is sensible to allow farmers to sell produce from roadside stands in agricultural districts, but not to allow vendors to operate in all commercial areas.

The Anne Arundel County Council last night postponed a vote on a measure that would relax restrictions on roadside vendors who peddle everything from fruit to velvet Elvis posters.Although the legislation that removes parking and commercial area restrictions enacted by the council in July was expected to be approved, an amendment introduced last night required the council to schedule a public hearing on Jan. 16.The amendment would require vendors to pay a $50 relocation fee in addition to the $250 yearly license fee if they want to move to a spot other than the one listed on their license.