Sweet Karma Against Florida Lemonade Stand Foe

In this photo from the  Tampa Bay Times,
T.J Guerrero prepares to sell more lemonade.  

Remember that guy I wrote about the other day who has been fighting tooth and nail against a neighborhood kid's lemonade stand?    

Well, karma has reared its head against the grumpy neighbor, named Doug Wilkey.

As I reported the other day, quoting the Tampa Bay Times, the zoning regulators took a look at the lemonade stand and decided no rules were broken. The lemonade sales can continue.

However, in an update by the Tampa Bay Times, the zoning people in Dunedin Florida found problems with Wilkey. Turns out he's allegedly running a business out of his home without a permit. 

Which means his efforts to go after the kid with the lemonade backfired right onto him.

According to the Tampa Bay Times:

"A tipster contacted the city and pointed officials toward records that show Wilkey, as recently as March, listed his Patricia Avenue home as the principal business address for Bayport Financial Services. 

Planning Director Greg Rice said officials were drafting a letter notifying Wilkey, 61, that all companies operating in the city require a business tax license, which  osts about $45 a year, and that home-based business owners must sign an affidavit agreeing to follow special rules."

It's been a terrible week for Wilkey, because his dislike for the lemonade stand went totally viral, and public opinion is solidly against him. "Grumpy" is one of the most common, and nicest words I've seen this week to describe Wilkey.

Meanwhile, all this publicity is GREAT for T.J.Guerrero, the 12-year-old who operates the stand. Because of all the news lots of people have either bought lemonade from him or donated money.

He took his mother out to dinner with some of the extra proceeds. His mom is setting up a college fund with some of the windfall, and some of it will be donated to charity the Tampa Bay Times says.

For Once, Town Does NOT Crack Down On Lemonade Stand

T.J. Guerrero sells lemonade in Dunedin, Florida,
which has opted not to crack down on him. Photo
by Jim  Damaske, Tampa Bay Times.  

I've seen a lot of weird news about crackdowns on lemonade stands and such in recent years, as towns decide that lemonade stands are apparently criminal enterprises that will destroy their communities. Or something.  

So I have to congratulate the community of Dunedin, Florida, for letting a kid named T.J. Guerrero, 12, sell his lemonade in peace, despite vigorous and persistent objections from a grumpy, mean neighbor, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The Times says this about the cranky neighbor:

"Doug Wilkey contends that the Palm Harbor Middle School student's year round operation is an 'illegal business' that causes excessive traffic, noise, trash, illegal parking and other probles that reduce his property values.

'Please help me regain my quiet home and neighborhood,' Wilkey, 61, wrote.

So far, Dunedin, Florida town officials have not done as Wilkey has wished, probably figuring it's just a lemonade stand, and also thinking about the wave of negative publicity if they shut the kid down.

"'We're not inthe business of trying to regulate kids like that; nor do we want to do any code enforcement like that,' said Dunedin planning and development director Greg Rice. 'We are not out there trying to put lemonade stands out of business.'"

Which is a nice switch. Because there does seem to have been a nationwide crackdown on lemonade stands by municipalities in the last several years. As far back as 2011, Forbes magazine had a rundown of the various kids' lemonade stands shut down by mean old zoning and code officials. 

The Forbes article called the shut downs "inexplicable" and I agree. It seems many of the code enforcement actions seemed to be an effort by cash strapped cities to collect fees and fines by whatever means and amounts necessary.

Hence the fines and bills that amounted to as much as $500 for parents of kids who tried to sell lemonade.

There's even a Lemonade Freedom web site, fighting back against police and municipal efforts to rid their communities of the "scourge" of lemonade stands. The tag line on the Web site is "Because selling lemonade is not a crime."

So it's refreshing to say the least that Dunedin, Florida is resisting calls to shut down one lowly lemonade stand in the town.

Still, Wilkey is persistent. He's tried saying the lemonade stand attracts misbehaving kids who throw rocks and debris and spew profanity, that they might kill somebody selling contaminated lemonade, and that his neighborhood is not zoned for business.

But authories have not found evidence of lemonade stand misdeeds. A sheriff deputy has been out a couple times. He polled other neighbors, who all said they were fine with the lemonade stand. So at last report, you can still get your lemonade from T.J. Guerrero in Dunedin, Forida.

The lemonade stand might disappear in a couple years, though, when Guerrero will turn 14. At that point, he says, he'll be old enough to work as a bagger at a nearby supermarket, which might be more lucrative for him.

City Closing "Little Free Libraries" Because Interesting, Fun Neighborhoods Are So Un-American

A fun little idea has been spreading fast across America: They're called Little Free Libraries.  

An example of a neighborhood Little Free Library. 

You might have seen them. They're little kiosks on suburban and neighborhood streets that look sort of like itty bitty houses in which there are maybe a dozen books.

These are mini-self serve libraries that people voluntarily set up in front of their houses.

Their neighbors can borrow books from these, and maybe even contribute a few tomes.  Little Free Libraries have become all the rage. 

It's a great idea, which means boring zoning officials, aided and abetted by a few homeowners who HATE it when their neighbors do anything vaguely interesting, must put a stop to these little libraries.

So it is in Leawood, Kansas, where the city is telling people to get rid of their Little Free Libraries, or face fines, says television station KCTV in Kansas City.  The zoning people are saying free standing structures are not permitted in front yards.

The reason, of course, is property values. KCTV says a city spokesperson told him that's a main reason behind the crackdown.

Apparently, any deviation from the most bland, beige cookie cutter look to a neighborhood would mean the value of every house on the block would crash to zero, no matter how slight the aberration in the neighborhood.

Now, there is a place for reasonable rules here. It's perfectly fine for a city, and a neighborhood to demand that Little Free Libraries stay little so they don't become de facto businesses, and that they be properly maintained.

That's the same reason why I wouldn't want my neighbor across the street to have a bunch of wrecked cars on blocks on their front lawn, but I don't mind that their flowers are a little unruly. (And the reason I hope that the neighbors don't mind that I'm a little behind on my garden weeding)

As is usual in the case like this, most neighbors in Leawood like these Little Free Libraries, but a few people, who wouldn't speak on camera, called them eyesores.

This battle is remiscent of another suburban battle raging across the nation. Some people are putting vegetable gardens in their front yards, with the logic they might as well make their property productive.

But that once again raised the fear it could Ruin Property Values. Because a tomato plant growing in a front yard would obviously make the McMansion next door look like a run down shack, or something.

In any event, if my neighbor wants to put up a Little Free Library, go for it. Just note I'd probably use the HELL out of it, because its such a fun idea.

I know, I know. I must by un-American for wanting a fun neighborhood. Maybe the zoning board has already begun investigating me.