However, crepe stallholder Dana Burton says the warning she received last Friday only stiffens her resolve to challenge the "ridiculous" bylaw in the High Court.
The bylaw states traders operating along a narrow strip by the Queenstown Bay lake wall have to move every hour and remain at least 50 metres from each other.
In Burton’s warning letter, council alleges she’s not registered her details with the council and isn’t displaying proof of registration and, last Thursday, observed she was operating less than 50m from another stallholder and remained in the same spot for over 90 minutes.
If she doesn’t meet these requirements, she faces a fine of up to $20,000 and seizure of her stall, it states.
Burton, who has proof she did register with the council, maintains the bylaw’s "unreasonable", and early this year told Mountain Scene: "If we have to move every hour it’s going to create a nuisance, it’s going to create health and safety issues in a heavily-populated area."
She pointed out council, in its draft bylaw, only imposed these conditions on buskers, and only added stallholders and charity street collectors when adopting it.
Councillor Niki Gladding argued council’s process was flawed — "if the stallholders had known, they would have submitted".
On the other hand, a council spokesperson said its previous bylaw defined ‘busking’ to include pop-up stallholders and charity street collectors.
Burton, whose legal advice is she’s got grounds for a High Court judicial review of the bylaw, says she’s gathering a group of stallholders who’ll first send a lawyer’s letter to the council.
She says she’ll now move her stall every hour, "but I will make sure it looks like the circus it is".
She’ll also get a comments book allowing stall customers to give their reaction — "the consumers that are coming enjoy the fact they can get a cheap bite to eat, they love what’s happening on the waterfront".
A council spokesperson says they’ve undertaken "significant education" around the bylaw’s "relevant rules" with lakefront traders.
"Hence we’re disappointed to observe ongoing non-complying behaviour in this location.
"Traders who don’t comply with the rules diminish the community’s opportunity to use and enjoy the area."
