Pizza vendor lands permit despite e-mail campaign

After listening to the pleas of two downtown restaurant owners, the Whitefish City Council on Nov. 16 approved a temporary vendor's permit for Second Street Pizza owner Dave Sheeran. The vote was 5-1, with councilor Turner Askew opposed.

The council underwent a long and drawn-out process to develop new regulations for mobile vendors last year, and Sheeran was the first to apply under the new rules.

Notice was given to all tenants and property owners within 250 feet of the empty lot across from the Great Northern Bar, where Sheeran wanted to operate a pizza cart from 11:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The location is kitty-corner to Richard Kramer's Red Caboose restaurant, which is open to 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Kramer has long opposed Sheeran's mobile vending business, which operated on a temporary 60-day permit through September while the new regulations were being developed.

Kramer's opposition elevated Sheeran's application to a public hearing before the city council. Once approved by the council, a permit is good for 60 days with conditions and could be renewed administratively without the council.

City planners recommended 10 conditions. Sheeran paid his $300 fee, obtained written permission from Tom Donahue, who owns the vacant lot, and passed a county health department field inspection.

Noting that he "is part of the community," Sheeran told the council he wanted to "pre-empt" comments he expected Kramer would make to them, based on Kramer's "e-mail campaign." The council "voted on this and decided it was legal," he said, and he followed all the rules.

As a restaurant owner in New York City, he'd "been through the wringer" on health and safety. And as for Kramer's business struggles, "everyone's hurting now," Sheeran said, especially during the shoulder seasons. He said he lost money by not being open during the nice fall weather and during Halloween.

Noting that he doesn't sell drinks — just pizza — Sheeran said he didn't feel responsible for people publicly urinating nearby. He also claimed the pizza he sells keeps inebriated bar patrons from "punching each other" or driving into the ditch — a point later echoed by supporter Rebecca Norton.

Kramer responded by noting that the Red Caboose has sold pizza by the slice. The ordinance was meant to help new businesses get started, but Sheeran already owns an established business on Second Street, he said.

Mobile vendors "on a cheap dirt lot" unfairly compete with "brick and mortar" businesses that have to pay property taxes — especially in light of the 30-year low in restaurant business nationwide, Kramer said. Sheeran could rent a space in the former Flanagan's Central Station building if he wants to be on Central Avenue, Kramer pointed out.

Kramer has put his two Central Avenue properties, the Red Caboose restaurant and Casey's Bar, on the market for $2.1 million.

Councilor Nancy Woodruff reiterated that she is "not a big fan" of the new regulations for mobile vendors, but councilor Ryan Friel said Sheeran "is not a gypsy" and the council needed to be equitable with the process they created.

Askew's motion requiring a portable toilet died for lack of a second, but his motion requesting a staff report on Sheeran's mobile vending business before the 60-day permit expired was approved by 5-1, with councilor Nick Palmer in opposition.

"I believe we made a mistake creating these new vending regulations," Askew said. "It's not his problem — it's ours."