Our Place
The City of Lake Geneva has an active ordinance when it comes to doing private business on city property (including in parks). The debate about where the Knockerball conversation, a private operation, might end up in a city park continues to rage on. Obviously, back in 1992 when this ordinance was written, the city leaders wanted to limit businesses from being run on city property, to the exclusion of other businesses or those businesses competing from legitimately rented or owned spaces in very specifically located private properties.
Here are the two applicable paragraphs, which are pretty self-evident in explanation, although a similar violation of ordinance interpretation by the current city administrator attempted to reform and reinterpret another ordinance that was supposed to limit private businesses from taking advantage of city advertising limitations on public property:
- Prohibited generally. Except as provided in this section, no person shall conduct any business of any nature for private gain or offer for sale or consideration any service of any kind or operate any business or conduct any sales booth, stand or other contrivance, whether the same be portable or stationary, for the sale of any merchandise, within or upon any public parks, public grounds or docks or piers extending from any public park or public grounds or from any public highway within the City or upon the water of Geneva Lake.
- Exception, permit: the Council may, by special permit for the purpose of accommodating the public in the parks, lakeshore, piers, docks or public highways, rent concessions to churches, religious, charitable or benevolent organizations, the American Legion or such persons or other organizations as the Council may deem fit to operate such concessions under such terms and conditions as the Council may provide or impose.
How will this be resolved?
Person Of The Week
Pastor Jennie Swanson from the First Congregational UCC Church in Genoa City is overwhelmed by the generosity of the community helping families that were displaced by an apartment fire.
