Carriage ordinance workshop today

Assistant City Attorney Carlos Mendoza will address city commissioners this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. to review the latest revision of a proposed horse carriage ordinance, in a public workshop before their regular 5:00 p.m. commission meeting.

The session is in the Alcazar Room at City Hall.

Mendoza has been working on the sensitive proposal, presenting drafts in May and July, each greeted by protests from carriage businesses and supporters as well as orders from commissioners for further revision.

Carriage permit fees, horse urine, city expenses and horse carriage routes were among the concerns at the most recent session. Last week, carriage driver Terry Herbert organized a protest rally on the steps of city hall, arguing, “Carriages should be prominent in St. Augustine, yet the city is pushing them out.”

In a letter to Historic City News, Herbert wrote, “Together, we will peacefully but emphatically protest our current City Commission’s attempted government take-over of businesses in St. Augustine and its overregulation of individuals including musicians and artists.”

Photo credits: © 2010 Historic City News staff photographer