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Take long time to decide Christmas tree case

Claire Brown, owner of Claire's Produce and Plants, poses for a portrait at her shop on Monday evening, December 5, 2016 in Sarasota. Brown has been selling Christmas trees on her property, which is zoned suburban agriculture, but the county has told her that she needs a permit to sell the trees and has until Tuesday to either get the permit or stop selling the trees.
Claire Brown, owner of Claire's Produce and Plants, poses for a portrait at her shop on Monday evening, December 5, 2016 in Sarasota. Brown has been selling Christmas trees on her property, which is zoned suburban agriculture, but the county has told her that she needs a permit to sell the trees and has until Tuesday to either get the permit or stop selling the trees. Zack Wittman zwittman@bradenton.com

The Herald’s Dec. 6 article regarding a code enforcement dispute between Claire Brown (Claire’s Produce and Plants) and the county made me wonder if the Grinch may still be alive and well — at least here in Manatee County!

According to the article, Ms. Brown has been selling Christmas trees from her produce stand, zoned suburban agricultural, for 10 years. But now the county claims she is in violation of county zoning codes because she hasn’t purchased a “temporary use permit” for $395.

I know from personal experience that Claire’s Produce and Plants has been selling a wide variety of agricultural products from that stand since the 1990s. And I find it hard to believe that it’s OK for her to sell tomatoes, celery, peppers, watermelons, poinsettias and any number of agricultural products, but that somehow her selling Christmas trees presents an affront to our zoning codes.

But maybe there’s hope for her: According to the article, County Code Enforcement Chief Jeff Bowman won’t do anything on this until he finishes his research. I trust he’ll be methodical and exercise due diligence, which could take some time.

And then he’ll decide, sometime after Dec. 25, that Claire’s Christmas tree sales present no threat to the sanctity of our zoning codes. And that he and the county will leave her in peace ... and goodwill.

Tim Rocklein

Sarasota (Manatee County)

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Take long time to decide Christmas tree case."

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