After once again hearing from members of the community and carrying out a lengthy discussion among themselves, McAllen city commissioners reached what they hoped was a compromise in the regulations the city adopted for pop-up markets on Monday.
The city commissioners decided to allow pop-up markets to operate with a permit in commercial zones near residential areas, though with some restrictions.
If a pop-up market is located in a business zone that is across the street from a residential area, the market must end by 9 p.m. and can only operate for a maximum of 10 hours.
If a market is located adjacent to a residential area — with the exception of being across the street — the city manager has the discretion to approve or deny the permit.
Those provisions were added to the ordinance, which also limits pop-up markets — whether or not they’re near residential areas — to no more than 12 times per year per address.
The cost of a one-time fee for each permit will depend on the number of participating vendors.
A pop-up market with one to 15 vendors will be charged a $50 permit fee; a pop-up market with 16 to 30 vendors will be charged a $75 permit fee; and a pop-up market with more than 30 vendors will be charged a $100 permit fee.
Additionally, while the main use of a plaza — or any proposed location for the pop-up market — is still open for business, no more than 25% of the total parking lot may be used for the pop-up market.
At all other times, no more than a third, or 33.3%, of the total parking lot may be used for the purposes of a pop-up market.
Those not adjacent to residential areas are also limited to 9 p.m. and cannot operate for more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period.
The last time the commissioners discussed the proposed regulations, during a workshop on Sept. 12, the ordinance only addressed zoning by stating pop-up markets had to be located within C-3 zones or higher. It made no mention of prohibiting them near residential areas at the time.
However, the language of the ordinance presented to the city commissioners on Monday stated they could not be located on property that is “adjacent” to a zoning district designated R-1 or R-2. Both are residential zoning districts.
This addition to the ordinance would have prohibited pop-up markets along Main Street and it was this provision that spurred some of the public comments during Monday’s city commission meeting.
Mark Millis and his wife Angela, who live along Main Street and own two additional properties there, spoke in favor of allowing pop-up markets to operate there.
“These pop-up markets provide opportunities, as you’ve just heard, for those who cannot afford a brick and mortar; it’s a stepping stone to that elevation for these people,” Mark Millis said. “They’re vibrant, they’re local artists, they’re people who want to provide their services to the people at large, and this gives them that opportunity.”
Millis, who owns two additional properties on Main Street with his wife, said he supports regulations for pop-up markets regarding parking, noise mitigation, and alcohol use.
“But this new addition that you can’t have a pop-up market adjacent to an R-1 or an R-2, you’re basically eliminating the opportunity,” Millis said. “Maybe that’s the intent, but I don’t think that is the way that the city of McAllen and its entrepreneurship really wants to go.”
While most of the speakers from the public supported the markets, one couple did not want them to be held along Main Street.
Hilda Edwards, who also lives with her husband along Main Street, said she wanted to preserve the character of the area.
“We are already expected to tolerate the negative effects of high traffic, speeding cars, loud music, and the nightlife atmosphere of Main Street,” Edwards said. “We pray that you do not allow pop-up markets to establish themselves across the street from our homes as they will only exacerbate the problems that our neighborhood is already experiencing.”
She also presented a petition signed by 75 McAllen residents objecting to the location of pop-up markets in the area.
The city also received feedback via email, most of which were in favor of allowing the markets to operate adjacent to residential areas, according to Assistant City Manager Michelle Rivera.
Following some debate among the city commissioners, they decided to allow the markets to operate across the street from residential areas but under more limitations than for those not near residential areas.
“I hope everybody’s happy,” Mayor Javier Villalobos said once the regulations were approved.
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