Oxford Village officials called a temporary halt to the enforcement of a ban on the outdoor display and sale of merchandise in one of the commercial zoning districts, so they can figure out how best to address the issue going forward.

“I don’t think that we can keep ticketing people when it’s clearly our problem and has been for a decade,” said village President Sue Bossardet.

Last week, council voted 4-0 to place a moratorium on the enforcement of a section of the zoning ordinance that prohibits the outdoor display/sale/storage of merchandise in the Central Business District (C-1) Transition district.

The moratorium will last until Oct. 15 and during this time, “no new outdoor storage can occur (where it) doesn’t exist currently,” according to the approved motion.

Officials made it a relatively short moratorium to give the village attorney time to review it and determine its legality. If it’s OK, it can be, and most likely will be, extended.

At the Sept. 11 village meeting, two business owners in the C-1 Transition district approached council about changing the rules. Both had been ticketed by the village for having merchandise outside.

Under the current zoning ordinance, outdoor sales are only permitted in General Business District (C-2) zoning after special use approval has been obtained from the planning commission.

Under the village code of ordinances, the outdoor display and sale of merchandise is also allowed downtown, in C-1 Core zoning, but only on the sidewalks along Washington St. (M-24) between Broadway and East streets. That ordinance has been on the books since 1969.

Drew Benson, assistant village manager, researched the outdoor sales issue for council and based on past meeting minutes, he found it was on officials’ radar in 2009-10, but the topic was never really dealt with. It was removed from agendas, set aside or simply never discussed when it was supposed to be.

Bossardet found it “inexcusable” and “absolutely ludicrous” that this happened and declared she was “ashamed of the village.”

“Since 2010, this has languished with no further discussion and I’m embarrassed by that,” she said.

Councilman Erik Dolan was not surprised by what Benson found.

“I think it’s symptomatic of previous management that previous council didn’t want to make a decision,” he said. “As opposed to putting themselves out there and being accountable for a decision, right or wrong, they chose the path of letting it languish.”

Councilwoman Maureen Helmuth, who was first elected in 2009, expressed her belief that the lack of action had more to do with “the fact that the planning commission and village council had very different ideas (about) which direction they wanted to go” with the outdoor sales issue.

“When nothing was moving forward because they couldn’t agree on anything, it sat and unfortunately, things got a little crazy after that with our entire (government) structure here,” she said.

Council members made it clear they’re ready to address the issue now.

“I think we need to make a decision, one way or another, and be accountable for that decision at this point,” Dolan said.

Bossardet expressed her belief that both the planning commission and Downtown Development Authority (DDA) board need to be involved in making this decision with council. She said there needs to be a “consensus” between all three boards regarding “what they want their downtown to look like or what they want the DDA district to look like.”

“I think that we don’t talk to each other. I think that’s unfortunate,” she said.

Bossardet would like the planning commission to “actually discuss” the issue and “not just rely on (an) out-of-town planner who doesn’t live in the community” to make a recommendation.

She was referring to the village planner, the Northville-based McKenna Associates.

Dolan agreed with Bossardet.

“I want us to dictate what’s going to happen in our community,” he said. “We too often defer to someone else to make our decision . . . We need to decide what we want for this community and advise them (to) make  it happen, period.”

If outdoor sales are going to be allowed in C-1 Transition zoning, Bossardet believes businesses should have to obtain a permit from the village, not receive special land use approval.

In her view, a permit process would give the village more control over how outdoor sales are conducted because permits can be reviewed annually, they can be renewed or revoked, and they cannot be transferred should a business change hands.

It was Chuck Schneider, owner of Unique Stuff, one of the businesses ticketed by the village, that originally advocated for a permit process when it comes to allowing outdoor sales.

He suggested each business be given the opportunity to apply to the planning commission, make a presentation outlining its outdoor sales plan, then have a decision rendered based on the merits of their case.

“We (have) each got to make our pitch (as to) why we need what we need and they either approve it or they deny it,” Schneider said.

In Schneider’s view, there should be “no guidelines” for an applicant to meet other than “if (the request) makes sense” to planning commissioners, “they approve it.”

Schneider believes this is a better way to address the issue than setting one-size-fits-all standards because each business has its own unique needs.

“You can’t put us all under the same tent,” he said. “It has to be uniquely designed for each business.”

“I shouldn’t have to shoehorn my stuff into some little slot that they arbitrarily decide,” Schneider added.

Helmuth urged her fellow council members to remember that the next time they complain that “nobody’s writing tickets” for ordinance violations, “this is what you get when you write tickets.”

“While your point is well taken, I would say it’s comparing apples to oranges,” Dolan responded.

With other ordinance violations, such as the failure to remove snow from sidewalks, Dolan said there was a consensus among council members that compliance was the desired result. But with outdoor sales, no decisions were ever made.

“I don’t think our inactivity should negatively impact the businesses,” he said.

Bossardet said the initial ticketing of the businesses was “a good decision because it brought a problem to light.”