Changing the Rules

Back in September, I went before the county Planning Commission to talk about an ordinance change they were proposing.

I had urged county officials to take a look at the county's home occupation ordinance. It had come to my attention through my work with the newspaper that this ordinance essentially made criminals out of folks who were doing eBay or other Internet businesses out of their home.

In other words, it was against the county's ordinances to sell stuff, even online. Even if you never bothered a single person because you carried your stuff to the post office, or better yet, just drop shipped it and never saw the product, you were still breaking the county's law.

About the time I was suggesting to county officials that they change this, a friend applied for a permit to sell over the Internet and was denied. I helped her contact her county supervisor to complain and she set about officially making the request for changes. It is always better if a citizen other than a representative of the press can be involved.

Anyway, it took county officials about five months to review the ordinance and offer up suggested changes. By this time I was no longer writing much for the local paper so I wasn't able to follow the story for my readers. However, being a self-employed business person who works from home I had a keen interest in any changes the county might want to make to this particular ordinance.

Some of the suggested changes did not suit me; they seemed punitive or unfair or unclear, so I wrote up a list of things that I thought were wrong and offered suggestions of my own and trotted off to the public hearing.

A few other folks talked but offered no solutions to their complaints and were vague about what they thought was wrong with the ordinance. My list was fairly long and was, frankly, a reworking of the entire offered document. I offered a solution to every objection. My changes were so many that the Planning Commission took no action but instead scheduled a work session on my proposed changes. They met two nights later.

The planning staff offered up a new version of the document at the work session. This one addressed just about every issue and concern I had raised, either by changing wording, clarifying, or eliminating various sentences.

In particular, the section about Internet business was stronger and more clear, as was a section on allowed personal services (such as, say, a beauty parlor or a tutor or dare I say, a writer?). At least now a person could sell on eBay without being convicted of a misdemeanor if caught. Although that person needs to have a home occupation permit and a business per county ordinances if they are to be legal.

The Planning Commission approved this document, and it went to a second public hearing before the Board of Supervisors a few day later. It passed without much ado and no additional changes.

Which goes to show, one person can indeed have an impact and an influence on important things.