The Saturday Market at Rebus Works will continue to operate at least through the end of June.
City Councilors Tuesday approved a permit to close the vicinity of Kinsey Street from Dupont Circle north to the dead end for a weekly farmers market.
Area residents initially opposed the closure, complaining about noise, traffic and parking problems. Several filed objections with the Raleigh Police Department.
In November, Councilors granted a controversial 30-day permit to give area residents the opportunity to work out their differences.
Tuesday, Councilor Mary-Ann Baldwin said neighbors discussed the issue at a recent neighborhood meeting.
“The neighborhood has had their homeowners association meeting and they took a vote 28 and 7, in favor of the market with some stipulations,” Baldwin said.
The stipulations include: allowing neighborhood businesses along the affected portion on Kinsey Street access to their workplaces and requiring that noise be kept at a reasonable level and all ABC laws be adhered to.
Since the neighborhood vote was not unanimous, Baldwin suggested the permit be approved through the end of June and revisited at the June 17 City Council meeting to ensure that the requirements are working.
Shonna Greenwell, representing Rebus Works, requested the road closure on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Greenwell also requested permission for food trucks to park on the street, a waiver of all city ordinances concerning the consumption of alcohol on city property and permission to allow amplified sound.
The enforcement of permits for weekend events is an ongoing issue for the city of Raleigh.
Councilman Russ Stephenson brought up a larger issue of the lack of inspections at weekend events. A recent inspector’s report pointed out that the proper permits were not pulled for many weekend events.
The Saturday Market at Rebus Works has been operating for more than two years, occasionally hosting bigger events, such as wrestling shows, which bring in large numbers of people.
“These events all happen on the weekend when the inspector noted that we don’t have any inspectors on staff working on weekend,” Stephenson said. “We might need to think about adjusting some forces. If we have these new innovative events going on regularly on weekends we have some inspectors out there to help us keep track of them.”
Decision on Franklin Street Closing Postponed
Councilors put off voting on a request to close Franklin Street between North Person and Blount Streets for a monthly crafters and art market.
Several area residents have filed objections with the Raleigh Police Department about the the frequency of the road closures.
Baldwin, who has worked closely with the Person Street neighborhood on the matter, said area residents request that Councilors postpone discussing the request until their Feb. 4 meeting to allow for further neighborhood discussion.
