The City of Fort Walton Beach will consider an ordinance that would let home-based cottage food businesses sell goods from a cart or stand, a change that follows recent complaints from stand operators who say code enforcement has forced them to close.
On Wednesday, July 22, the operators of Austin’s Cookies, a Fort Walton Beach stand, said in a video posted to social media that a complaint had been filed and that code enforcement was shutting the stand down. The business shared the city’s current home-based business code, which bars any outside evidence of a home business beyond a single small nameplate.
- Around the same time, operators of similar stands in other area municipalities posted on social media that they had received comparable complaints. Fort Walton Beach appears to be the first area city to propose easing its rules.
The proposal, Ordinance 2227, would amend Section 5.01.01 of the city’s Land Development Code. That section now bars any outside evidence of a home-based business other than a single unlighted nameplate no larger than 1 square foot.
In a memo to City Manager Jason Davis, Growth Management Director Tim Gibson wrote that staff had received requests for carts or stands from home-based businesses, typically operating on an honor system, along with concerns and objections from owners who run or want to run such a stand. The memo does not reference any specific business.
Gibson wrote that staff researched how other jurisdictions handle the issue and reviewed Florida Statute 559.955, and that easing the city’s restrictions would not put the City of Fort Walton Beach in violation of the statute.
Under the ordinance, the allowance would apply only to businesses operating under Florida’s cottage food laws, defined in Chapter 500.80 of state statutes. State law lets residents make and sell certain shelf-stable foods from home without a state license, but it directs operators to follow local home-based business rules, which is where the city’s stand restrictions apply.
A qualifying business could have one cart or stand subject to several standards:
- The cart or stand could be no more than 20 square feet in footprint and no more than 8 feet tall.
- It could not be permanently affixed to the ground and would have to be stored out of sight when not in use and between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. No sales could take place during those hours.
- During operation, it would have to sit within 10 feet of the home and no closer than 15 feet to the front property line or any public right-of-way.
- The property would need at least two off-street parking spaces for customers on a stabilized surface such as a driveway, carport or garage. Grass and other non-stabilized surfaces would not count.
- Owners would have to apply for and receive city approval before operating.
The Local Planning Agency is scheduled to consider the ordinance Aug. 6. The City Council is set to take it up on first reading Aug. 11 and second reading Aug. 25. If approved, the ordinance would take effect immediately upon the second reading and the mayor’s signature.
