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Media Release

30 June 2006

Summary of what is being recommended for the City of Yarra Footpath Trading Policy

Council's revised draft Footpath Trading Policy is being recommended for adoption.

The revised policy will be discussed and the recommendation considered at Council's Planning, Environment and Infrastructure Committee Meeting on Tuesday 4 July and a final decision on the draft policy will be made at the full meeting of Council on Tuesday 18 July.

The CEO of Yarra City Council, Lydia Wilson, said extensive consultation had been conducted on the revised Footpath Trading Policy, with traders, community, groups, the City of Yarra Disability Advisory Committee , other councils and residents.

"During consultation several major issues were consistently raised. Council has amended the draft Footpath Trading Policy in response to feedback and submissions received in relation to these major issues, and is now recommending it for adoption," she said.

Council is now recommending the revised draft Footpath Trading Policy to include the following:

There is to be no footpath trading on footpaths less than 2.5 metres .

Council's Disability Advisory Committee does not support trading on footpaths less than 2.5m wide, believing them to be too narrow to accommodate functional and safe access. This view is accepted and it is recommended that to ensure Council can meet access requirements the policy be amended to prohibit trading on footpaths less than 2.5m wide.

Traders can use any seating configuration they choose as long as they comply with footpath access requirements.
Traders will need to get permission from Council to trade on the footpath after 11pm. Traders currently trading later than 11pm may continue to do so. New applications will be assessed on a case by case basis by Council.
All items associated with footpath trading must be removed from the footpath daily in accordance with each trader's footpath trading license.
Footpath trading barrier screens must not exceed a height of 1.2 metres above the footpath. Existing licensed barrier screens which exceed 1.2 metres will be allowed to stay.
There is no fee proposed for planter boxes. New planter boxes must be easily removable. Existing planter boxes that are not easily removable will be allowed to remain.
Patrons are encouraged not to congregate or block the walkway zone and food is not to be served to people standing in the walkway zone.
Real Estate Agents must obtain an annual license to display pointer boards. Pointer boards can only be displayed between 8.00am and 5.00pm on the day of a property sale or 30 minutes before and after a premise is open for inspection.
No trading is allowed beyond the vehicle stop line (whether controlled by traffic lights or not) or beyond the property line to ensure pedestrian safety.
Footpath trading needs to be setback one metre from public seats, trams and bus stops unless Council considers that a greater setback is required.

The CEO said: "I believe Council has developed a draft policy that addresses, as much as possible, the concerns and needs of all footpath users.

"Our aim is to find a balance between supporting footpath trading in this municipality and protecting people's basic right to have access to public footpaths," she said.

Proposed fee structure

It is proposed that:

Unlicensed premises pay $50 per table and $10 per chair.
Licensed premises pay $50 per table and $45 per chair.

The CEO, Lydia Wilson, said the proposed fee structure aimed to achieve greater equality for all traders.

"Under the current structure, fees are based simply on the number of tables a premise has rather than its seating capacity," she said.

"This means, for example, that a large licensed trader with one large table and 16 chairs is paying the same fee as a small licensed trader with one small table and two chairs.

"In response to concerns raised by traders about the impact of fee increases originally proposed by Council in January 2006, we undertook further modelling and Council is now proposing a smaller fee, which will result in many traders paying less fees than they do now."

Council originally proposed in January 2006 that:

Unlicensed premises pay $50 per table and $50 per chair.
Licensed premises pay $50 per table and $75 per chair.

"We are also proposing to phase-in fee increases over two years for license premises where the fee increase is greater than 10%," Ms Wilson said.

Council obtained information about the table and seating configuration of 383 local premises - 180 unlicensed and 203 licensed. The below information is based on these premises.

Proposed fees for unlicensed premises

49 unlicensed premises out of 180 will pay less footpath trading fees than they do now.
56 unlicensed premises will experience a small fee increase of no greater than $75 a year or $6.25 a month, or approximately $1.44 a week.
Any fee increase more than 10% will be phased in over two years.

Proposed fees for licensed premises

118 licensed premises out of 203 will pay less trading fees than they do now.
26 licensed premises will experience a small fee increases of no greater than $100 a year, or $8.33 a month, or 1.92 a week.
45 licensed premises will experience a fee increase of no greater than $200 a year, or $16.66 a month, or approximately $3.84 a week.
12 licensed premises will experience a fee increase of no greater than $300 a year, or $25 a month, or $5.76 a week.
7 licensed premises will experience an increase in fees between $300 and $400 a year and 4 licensed premises will experience a fee increase between $400 and $500 a year. These premises have large footpath trading areas and a large number of chairs on the footpath, seating between 30-60 people at any one time.
Any fee increase more than 10% will be phased in over two years.

Footpath Trading Fees	Current Fee	Proposed Fee
Fee for Advertising Sign	$70	$110.00 licensed premises $76 unlicensed premises
Fee for Goods Display / Promotional display	$221.50	$260.00
Planter Boxes/Tubs	No Fee	No Fee
Tables and Chairs
Licensed Premises	$192.00 per table	$50.00 per table $45.00 per available seat per person
Unlicensed Premises	1 st table no charge 2 nd table $66.50 3 rd and any subsequent tables $129 each	$50.00 per table $10.00 per available seat per person
Real Estate Sign Licence	No Fee	Annual fee $500.00 per agency or franchise

Further information

For media enquiries about this issue, please contact:
Media Officer
Richmond Town Hall
333 Bridge Road Richmond
Telephone 9205 5047, 0438 664 050
Email info@yarracity.vic.gov.au

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