Mayor Shutters Children's Produce Stand For Lack of Permits

Clayton, located about 30 miles east of San Francisco, is home to about 11,000 residents.

Katie and Sabrina Lewis in the garden that produces the family's fruits and vegetables.

(The Lewis family)

Lewis compared his daughters' stand to a more-common lemonade stand. But Manning said those, too, are illegal in Clayton, though officials typically don't pay much attention because they don't last more than a day or two.

"This is a pretty good operation," he said of the Lewis girls' stand. "I'm sure it's very nice stuff."

Katie said her most popular seller was the watermelons. Also big were zucchinis (75 cents for four small zucchinis and $1.25 for four of the larger ones) and eggplant, which was priced at six for $1.

Little sister Sabrina, Katie said, helped by picking flowers and hauling produce from the garden.

Manning said he's not trying to be the bad guy in this situation, but that he has to consider the residents' best interests.

"It's not like we're the Gestapo going out and closing down fruit stands," he said.

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Child's Play or Breaking the Law?

Posters on a local community blog were divided, with some calling for the mayor to lay off and others reminding the Lewis girls that everyone has to follow the same rules.

So, for now at least, the money going into Katie's college fund has slowed, though her father said they still sell some produce to loyal customers who call and then come by the house to pick it up.

Lewis said he's tried to get a temporary variance from the town to let the girls continue to work their stand, but said he's gotten the run around from the city council and its planning commission.

"I'm open to any suggestions from them," he said.

Manning, who is one of five on the city council and has served for 22 years, said the Lewises spoke to planning officials informally about the variance and were denied, though they were welcome to file a formal application.

Manning said he also wondered why no one from the family has spoken before either the council or the commission, when both entities have public comment portions at their meetings.

Lewis said he has been to a planning meeting, but a neighbor spoke on his behalf. And Lewis believes the majority of the council members to be against the stand's operation and that's why he hasn't approached them.