Patrons of downtown Athens will still be able to enjoy a hot dog on a Saturday night after all.
Following a month of revisions and conversation, the latest street sale ordinance was approved unanimously by the Athens-Clarke County commission Tuesday night 10-0.
The ordinance now includes that the commission finds it reasonable to permit tenured vendors who have operated near the new College Square to continue running their business. No new permits for on-site cooking or on-site food or beverage preparation within College Square shall be issued.
One of those longstanding vendors is Lin King with Dirty Dawgs, who has been selling hot dogs in downtown Athens for more than 20 years.
“I’ve been with a lot of alumni, their children and everything from Shockley to Stafford,” King said Tuesday. “This is not just the football players. It’s the people, the residents. They’re saying ‘Where you at?’ They moved me. I’d just like to go back to taking care of my family and do what I do and taking care of myself.”
He’ll now get to return to the corner of Clayton and College Avenue, where he’s been operating for years.
This amendment was written by the Athens Downtown Development Authority, who feared damage to the renovated space in College Square. At the Mayor and Commission special meeting on September 15, ADDA director of planning and outreach David Lynn spoke about how he’d seen instances of grease improperly tossed on the sidewalks.
The main argument which led to the amended language in the ordinance was simple — why should every business be punished for the actions of one instance.
District 10 commissioner Mike Hamby helped revise the wording.
“Glad we were able to work something out and I think this will be good for Mr. King and some other downtown vendors who help us provide a service for Athens,” Hamby said. “So thank you.”
After discussion amongst commissioners, the revision was approved.
