On Tuesday, the Brentwood City Council opted to punt its decision on expansion of the downtown farmers market in the City of Brentwood.
It was being proposed that the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association (PCFMA) Farmers Market would increase by 20 additional booth spaces – which would be placed on Oak between Diablo Way and First Street, with five of these spaces reserved for City oversight and use with some limit restrictions (no hot food vendors or political activities).
According to the staff report, PCFMA has a current waitlist for the Brentwood Farmers Market, and would operate 15 of the new booths. This expansion will enhance the market’s offerings, support local businesses, and provide additional opportunities for community engagement.
Although Councilmember Jovita Mendoza brought the item forward, she said she didn’t want to expand the market, it was brought forward because there was downtown businesses who felt their business was being impacted by the farmers market – such as crates on the street, businesses are blocked.
“I think our ask was how do we support downtown businesses that are being negatively impacted by the farmers market, and we thought maybe the city could do part of it,” stated Mendoza. “I am not sure how we got here because I don’t think two spaces is going to be enough given what I have heard.”
Editors Note – back in January, the council directed staff to discuss with the farmers market organizers expansion and reconfiguration – while seeing if they can support local businesses who may want a booth. The item was requested by Councilmember Jovita Mendoza who highlighted her item actually may need to be tweaked from a “configuration” to an “expansion” – given the long waiting list. Mendoza also said given what The Streets of Brentwood is doing, they need to compete and bring in people from all over the bay.
On Tuesday, Mendoza asked if a survey was done which staff said no survey was done, but they spoke with the Downtown Brentwood Coalition.
“It feels like we are trying to make a lot of people happy when the original intent was how do we help these people who feel like they are negatively being impacted,” said Mendoza.
After public comments, which were in support of the expansion, the council opted to hold off on a decision Tuesday night.
Mendoza called on continuing the item so they could survey the businesses and how many were interested—noting she did not think enough booths were being provided.
Staff corrected Mendoza, noting the council could opt to use the 5 additional booths anyway they wanted, while the PCFMA would control the other 15.
“I would like to see a survey of who would use the booths, is it all year long, parts of the year and then we can determine what we need,” said Mendoza. “What is it that the businesses think they want?”
She said the purpose of the possible expansion was to help the businesses and if the move they make doesn’t help the businesses, then she did not see the need for expansion at this moment in time.
Councilmember Tony Oerlemans said he had no issues moving it forward or postponing it to get a survey, but needed to take a look at chestnut vs. Oak St.—citing Chestnut might be the better option.
Mayor Susannah Meyer called it “fair” to go back and survey the businesses given the original intent changed. She said they should get more information before making a decision.
Vice Mayor Pa’Tanisha Pierson agreed with “kicking the can a little bit” on this item. She was not comfortable with the proposed expansion as presented.
Mendoza motioned to continue the item so that a survey could be completed. The survey would be of the downtown business of who would be interested in participating in the farmers market and at what frequency. She also wanted to figured out the interest in Chestnut St. and any safety measures and potential costs. The item was unanimously approved.
It is not clear when the item will return.
Original story:
The staff report says the Downtown Business Coalition fully supports the expansion efforts, however, the majority of DBC members want the market to be located directly in front of their businesses. Although the DBC would recommend the market expand to Chestnut Street initially, they understand PCFMA’s recommendation for Oak Street and hope if successful the next expansion would be on Chestnut.
Brentwood says if the City allows PCFMA to expand, Parks and Recreation staff will oversee the booth allocation process for the five spaces allocated for the City. This system ensures a fair and transparent process for all interested vendors, while also allowing flexibility for businesses and organizations to plan their participation. Applications will be reviewed quarterly, and spots will be drawn at random. Staff will create a process for a maximum number of times a business can participate annually if the City receives more applicants than available spots. The current plan is to reserve, on a quarterly application process, one spot each week for downtown businesses, one for nonprofits, and the remaining three spots would be from other permitted Brentwood-based businesses
In response to questions posed by the City Council, staff offers the following information:
Can the vendor booths go down the middle of the street? No, due to Fire District requirements, there is not enough space for a fire lane (20 ft) if booths are placed in the middle of the street. In addition, PCFMA does not recommend this, as it could create an issue with the flow of foot traffic around the market.
Can PCFMA expand down towards the Veterans Hall (on First Street)? PCFMA does not recommend expanding in that direction. There is an insufficient amount of shade, which could cause issues in the summer. In addition, expanding that direction would remove the primary “close up” parking to the market, approximately 40 spaces
Can we expand the market with downtown businesses having booths? If approved, PCFMA will provide five of the new twenty proposed spaces for the City to manage. This would include dedicated spaces each week for downtown businesses, non-profits and other Brentwood-based businesses.
Can the City run an additional portion of the Farmers Market for downtown booths? With the solution of adding 20 new booths, five would be dedicated for City management and operation.
Is the City of Brentwood Farmers Market the most expensive in the area? Brentwood’s Farmers Market is considered a “Tier 3” market through the PCFMA Board of Directors determined pricing schedule. This tier is for markets that have a high rate of attendance and are considered by PCFMA as one of their most successful. See attachment #2 for PCFMA Rates.
Poll downtown businesses to see if they are interested in participating in an expansion. Staff met with the board of directors of the Downtown Business Coalition, and they supported the proposed expansion of the market.
Staff recommends the expansion as proposed by PCFMA on Oak Street between Diablo Way and First Street, including the establishment of the quarterly draft booth allocation described above.
- Staff Report – click here
Previous:
- April 4 – Brentwood Looks to Expand Downtown Farmers Market
- Jan 29 – Council to Review Farmers Market Configuration — Expansion
