At their meeting this evening, the City Council will be considering a request from two Eden Prairie citizens who wish to establish a Farmers’ Market this summer in the Purgatory Creek Recreation Area (PCRA).
The PCRA is one of our news parks in Eden Prairie. It is located at the intersection of Prairie Center Drive and Technology Drive. It was in the planning stages for years and was completed as a joint project of the City and the Watershed District in 2004. The City formally dedicated the park during the summer of 2004.
The proponents would like to have the market open on Thursdays in the late afternoon and early evening and Saturday mornings. They say their market will have 28 stalls. The Farmers’ Market proposal came to Council for initial review in December 2004. It received a warm reception from the Council, but has generated quite a few questions since. Here are some of them:
1. Is there sufficient parking available for customers? Is it close enough to the market to be useful to the customers?
2. Will the market and the traffic is creates damage the park, especially its new sod and flowers? If so, how will the City assess repair costs to the responsible parties?
3. The market is right across the street from Bachman’s. There may be vendors in the market selling the same or similar products that Bachman’s sells. Is that appropriate given the investment that Bachman’s has made in a bricks & mortar store, and given the fact that Bachman’s cannot do “outside sales” of his products due to City zoning prohibitions?
4. Other local produce markets and growers are concerned that commercial growers will unfairly compete with existing markets in Eden Prairie. Is it a good idea to encourage new produce markets at the expense of the ones we have now?
5. The City is proposing to charge the Farmers’ Market a park rental fee of $90/day. Is that sufficient? Is it fair?
We will have both proponents and opponents of the proposal speaking to the Council tonight. Then, we’ll ask the Council to discuss the issue and tell us (staff) what they’d like to do. I don’t know which way this issue is going to go. It will be an interesting evening.
