The Community Redevelopment Agency on Sept. 25 approved a formal operating agreement for the Flagler Beach farmers market, adding language to allow amplified music subject to the city noise ordinance and clarifying an early setup exception for a produce vendor that uses a refrigerated truck.

Staff and market organizers told the CRA the market has grown from about 10 vendors at its old site to nearly 30 at the new Second Street location, and market income now covers carrying costs for the year. The CRA director recommended two edits to the draft agreement: remove a restriction that limited music to non-amplified sound and add an annual review clause.

Why it matters: The farmers market sits in the CRA district and is billed as an economic development and downtown-activation tool. The changes will affect noise management, vendor logistics, and annual oversight.

What the agency approved
- Allowed amplified music but explicitly subject to the existing city noise ordinance and enforcement, rather than creating an event-specific decibel standard. City staff suggested a “reasonable person / audible distance” approach as an enforcement guide instead of strict decibel thresholds because of calibration and enforcement concerns. Market representatives said music has been “minimally amplified” and vendors naturally lower volume when customers can’t talk.
- Clarified vendor setup times: the agreement requires most vendors to start setup at 7:30 a.m. but makes a written exception for a produce vendor who begins deliveries and setup at about 5:30 a.m. in parking spaces (not in the street). City counsel advised that the early-setup arrangement be put in writing in the agreement.
- Added a provision that the agreement will be reviewed and renewed annually.
- Asked market managers to remind vendors not to block designated museum parking or other reserved spots that affect nearby businesses and residents.

Supporting details and constraints
- Market organizers reported the move to Second Street has boosted visitation and vendor count, and that market revenue now covers annual carrying costs and allows donations to be spent on mission activities.
- The city asked the new CRA advisory board — recently created and to be appointed by the commission — to consider longer-term noise policy and whether a distance-based “reasonable person” standard should be adopted.

Formal action
A motion to approve the operating agreement as amended carried on a roll-call vote of 4–0. (Roll-call names recorded in the meeting transcript: Commissioner Bellhumor, Commissioner Cunningham, Commissioner Spradley and Chairman Sherman — all recorded as voting “yes.”)

Looking ahead
The market operators will work with staff to ensure vendors do not block reserved parking spaces; staff will include the early-setup exception in the written agreement and present the agreement for annual review.

Quoted in meeting (selected)
"We went from 10 vendors to nearly 30 vendors, and it's been an excellent experience," said one market representative at the podium describing vendor and visitor response.
"If I'm 100 feet away and I can't make out the words, it's not loud enough," the city manager said in describing a proposed reasonable-distance approach to noise enforcement.