Darien To Crackdown On Non-Registered Members In Sidewalk Sales

DARIEN, CT — The Darien Board of Selectmen on Monday night unanimously granted final approval for a special event permit for the town's annual Sidewalk Sales, which will take place from July 13-15. The event had been previously approved by police and zoning.

First Selectman Monica McNally had concerns about businesses unofficially participating in the event, which has been a recurring problem over the years.

The town will crackdown on unofficial participation this year.

Both Kesti Aysseh, the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, and Herve Hamon, the town's zoning enforcement officer, agreed that only those businesses that have paid and registered with the chamber program can sell their products outdoors during the event.

Hamon stressed that notion last month in a memo to Aysseh.

"In the past years, several businesses have conducted sidewalk sale without officially participating in the Chamber of Commerce program. From a legal perspective and due to potential liability problems, we cannot permit that practice to continue," Hamon said.

Hamon told Aysseh to advise businesses about the Chamber program.

"I do not want to prevent anyone from having a sidewalk sale, but we will be forced to shut down merchants or vendors who are not properly covered by this approval," Hamon added.

Aysseh told Patch Wednesday that in her experience running the popular event, she hasn't had non-registered businesses participate.

"We encourage all businesses, members or not, to register, and we hope to give them an ideal location. But this year, because of the construction [in the area], people need to be flexible and patient. There's a lot of unknowns, and we're hoping to give everyone a spot. But if people can register as soon as possible, we hopefully can include everybody," she said.

According to documents associated with the selectmen's approval, about 35-40 vendors are expected to participate this year. The sales will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

Chamber members will have a two-week priority sign-up period from April 1-14. Non-members can begin registering on April 15.

For more information on registration and how to participate in the sidewalk sales, go to the Darien Chamber of Commerce website.