by Keith_McClary » Mon 22 Aug 2011, 02:53:41
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'I')f local governments could drop some regulations, the plebs would be freed up to look for alternate sources of income. There's a guy a few streets down from me, I'm always seeing a "barbecue for sale" sign and he and his buddies are sitting out there with a smoker going. I see people stop in and buy some, I keep wondering if it's any good (and sanitary). It's probably fine yet what he's doing is illegal -- you can't run a business out of your home in suburbia, plus there is a whole mess of health code regulations for restaurants.
With so many small businesses, people are supposed to get licensed and permitted and have liability insurance, on and on.
Another issue is, for example in my town main street businesses have been shutting down and the population declining. Our town govt says our high tax rates on our homes is because the town doesn't have an industrial or commercial tax base. But there are many businesses operating from residential properties, parking their vehicles and equipment on streets, alleys or any nearby public land, thus avoiding property tax and licence fees. This is against town bylaws but the town govt does not enforce them for fear of seeming "anti-business".
They claim to want to attract people to live here, but who wants to live next store to a backyard mechanic or someone driving heavy equipment onto a trailer at 6:AM ?
Digression from lemonade, but sort of the same principle - there are also people who have "garage sales" every weekend in competition with tax-paying main street businesses.