PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Planning Commission voted 3-2 Wednesday to repeat the permitting process for the downtown Saturday Farmers Market.
The decision throws up in the air whether the market will be able to operate on Laurel Street in November and December.
New Port Angeles City Manager Mark Madsen said it was not known if the Farmers Market would have to stop during those months or not.
“The attorneys are going to have to talk about that,” he said.
Planning Commission members were faced with deciding if Commissioner Cherie Kidd’s membership in the Port Angeles Business Association, which sent a letter opposing the location of the Farmers Market, violated the state’s fairness doctrine, meant to reduce conflicts of interest among government officials.
Citing objections that Kidd should have declared her membership in the business association, the Planning Commission agreed there was an appearance of conflict with the fairness doctrine and the permit process should be done again.
The Farmers Market, which operates Saturday on a block of Laurel Street between Front and First streets, will continue for the rest of October, said Madsen, who assumed the top spot in city government this week.
However, the conditional use permit that was invalidated by the commission’s 3-2 vote Wednesday contained a stipulation for a two-month hiatus in November and December.
