After coming under fire over new rules for special event permits, town board members are scrambling to amend the rules so a popular consignment sale can go forward next month.
The town board has called a special meeting for Thursday at 10 a.m. to schedule a public hearing on amendments to the new rules that will allow ChickenKidz, a children’s clothing consignment sale, to take place as planned April 3-7. The amendments will provide an “amnesty” period for three months from the date the new rules went into effect as well as an “amnesty” on hefty late fees the new rules imposed, said Councilwoman Jodi Giglio.
Giglio said she asked the town attorney to draft a local law reflecting these amendments. The precise text was not available at time of publication of this article.
The board on Dec. 18 amended the special event permit rules to establish much earlier deadlines for permit applications, increase application fees and impose late fees for applications that don’t meet the deadlines. The new rules did not provide for any transition period in the first year, so it was impossible for some regular annual events to meet their new application deadlines — as long as nine months for events that draw more than 2,500 people — and others were faced with immediate filing deadlines as soon as the rules took effect.
Applicants would still be able to late-file up until 60 days before an event, but they’d have to pay a $20 per day late fee for every day after the filing deadline.
Susan Biegner of Medford, who runs ChickenKidz, a children’s clothing consignment sale held at Polish Hall twice a year, said her event permit application was rejected by the town clerk because it was filed less than the minimum 60 days before the event date.
Biegner took the podium at the last town board meeting to complain about the new rules and the town’s failure, she said, to notify annual applicants of the changes.
The town sent letters to every applicant that hosts events annually, Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith told Biegner.
Biegner said she never got a letter and complained that the town didn’t have the change posted prominently on its website and that the new rules didn’t include a transition period during the first year.
Biegner said she filed her application on Feb. 26. Under the new rules, the application would have to be filed 180 days before the April 3 event date. Under the old rules, her application was due Feb. 3 — 120 days before the event.
It’s not clear that the new rules were even in effect 180 days before the ChickenKidz event. They were adopted by local law on Dec. 18 and would take effect 20 days after filing with the N.Y. Secretary of State.
“She was late under the old rules,” Jens-Smith said.
Biegner said the town never followed its own rules. People filed late and some even filed “after the fact,” she said.
Town officials say that’s exactly the situation they intended to address with the new deadlines and late fees.
“This was a staff-driven process,” the town supervisor said. Town staff gets inundated with special event permits every year, too many of them at the last minute, causing “town hall to grind to a halt” because staff in various departments have to drop everything to process the applications — which typically involve the town attorney’s office, town police, fire marshal, and clerk.
“We were trying to get control of the process,” Jens-Smith said.
The supervisor noted that the town sent out 40 letters to organizations that hold special events every year. She said 27 of them filed their applications right away.
As a business owner — ChickenKidz is a for-profit entity — Biegner has a responsibility to keep informed about regulations and comply with them, Jens-Smith said.
The consignment sale allows hundreds of parents to sell gently used children’s clothing and other items. They rely on the income, Biegner told the town board at its meeting last week. Still others rely on the opportunity to buy clothes for their children at reduced prices.
“I feel this is very unjust,” Biegner said.
Numerous ChickenKidz participants have sent emails to the town board since the March 5 meeting, asking for relief.
“I am kindly pleading with you to reconsider approving the application and allow the 500 families that participate to sell and buy the things they need to care for their families. You are not just punishing one person for a late application; you are punishing an entire community,” wrote Elleyna Albanese.
“A lot of people from our community need this sale to happen because they can’t afford to buy kids clothes for spring and summer at a full retail price. Please help us to make this sale happen,” Larysa DiNapoli wrote.
“There are over 400 sellers and over 50,000 items to be sold at lower than cost for families in need within the Riverhead area,” said Donna Murphy in an email.
“In the world we live in, especially in New York, it seems so expensive to have and raise a family. I work as a professional and I still find it hard. This sale promotes nothing but good things. Comradery among sellers and volunteers, low cost merchandise for families and SUPER happy kids that were able to get a “ new” toy, book, bike or dress for their school event. I ask that you please reconsider letting us have this sale in April. Please think of the community,” wrote Denise Sontag.
Items not sold at the event are given to local charities — “charities within our community therefore again benefitting the Riverhead community,” wrote Leah Petrignani. “As a resident of Riverhead Town, I expect my elected officials to fight for what is best for our town. It’s a shame to not allow an event such as this to go forward on a technicality.”
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