The ‘slippery slope of selective legislation’; spring cleaning

Thursday, April 10, 2008

By Jake Nichols

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-If Jackson only had a few dozen Michele Burketts, the Spring Clean Up Week could be reduced to a few hours and a case of Brawny. Burkett left Hollywood for the Hole in 1997, and despite her better judgment, moved into Cecil’s old repair shop on Broadway. After investing $25 large and scraping grease off the floor, she started Interiors by Michele.

Burkett moved the operation to Pearl Street some four-and-a-half years later to open as Paradigm Interiors. Again, she cleaned house to prepare the space for her wares, gutting the building and dropping $3,000 on dump runs, to move into Tony Sanchez’s old spot. Some $100,000 and six years later, Burkett’s Paradigm does a decent business at 125 West Pearl when she doesn’t have employees allegedly embezzling from her and she is allowed to stick some merchandise on the sidewalk outside.

“I brought vibrancy to Pearl Street,” she told the council. “I know I am not above the law but my case is special. I have never interfered with the walkways and the things I put outside are upscale and classy. I do not create the atmosphere of a junk show or block the sidewalk.”

Burkett’s argument was long and passionate enough that Abe Tabatabai suggested she be cut off from coffee when it was over, but the council was hesitant to make an exception to town ordinances that disallow vendor merchandise outside store confines.
“First off, my compliments to you, Michele, for your success,” said Mayor Mark Barron. “But I’m opposed to doing case-by-case legislation. Granting one person permission allows everyone permission. I would prefer to see no sidewalk displays of merchandise anywhere and I respect you too much to tell you anything but how I feel. Again, it’s no reflection on how you operate your business.”

Council members, however, all stated they would like to see if city barrister and staff could concoct some way to make Burkett’s displays kosher.

“We’ve been through this a number of times and we ended up deciding we could [allow it] if we called it ‘art,’” said Obringer. “But ‘art’ was defined as things you could leave out all the time like bronze sculptures and stuff like that.”

Tabatabai pointed to exemptions that were already granted to places like Mill Valley Sheepskin and Leather who are allowed to tan their hides out front over the railing on Center Street.

Administrator Bob McLaurin warned the council about the slippery slope of selective legislation. “The last time I got involved with this at a previous job we spent three years knocking it around because once you do it, it opens up the door for everybody,” he said.
The council agreed to let Tyler Sinclair and Audrey Cohen-Davis find a loophole in the ordinance for Burkett if they could.

In other business
Even though spring cleaning this year could involve some snow shoveling, Mayor Barron declared Spring Clean Up Week will commence May 4 and run through the Saturday, May 10, when volunteer crews from the community are asked to assemble on the Town Square for mop up duty.

When JoJo’s opened last summer in the Broadway Shops, it earned the distinction as the café that robbed Wyoming of its only escalator. Erik Bedford received the go-ahead to replat that .34-acre lot into Broadway Shops Condominiums Addition. His plan was more or less approved back in 1993 and will feature 14 commercial condominium units.

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The ‘slippery slope of selective legislation’; spring cleaning | Planet JH News Article: General News

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