As tourists and locals begin to flood Victorian Square for a season of Sparks special events, the city is tightening the municipal code to require temporary use permits for outdoor sales. The amendment to the municipal code was approved unanimously at Monday’s regular city council meeting.

“So we have always required it, it just wasn’t in the code?” Mayor Geno Martini asked Rhonda Knox, senior code enforcement officer for the city of Sparks as she presented the item.

Her answer was “yes.”

Currently, outdoor vendors must leave plenty of room for pedestrians to walk and cars to park, have a business license, keep the area clean and must not occupy the space for more than 72 hours at a time.

The addition of a temporary use permit would require vendors to adhere to other regulations. These include:

• Ingress and egress to the property is sufficient for traffic and pedestrian safety and emergency access.

• Plans for traffic control, refuse collection and the provisions of toilet facilities are adequate to safeguard the public health and welfare.

• Adequate parking is available to accommodate the special event. Such parking may include on-street parking and unpaved off-street parking.

• The use of the property for the special event will not be a nuisance or detriment to the surrounding area.

• The duration of the event will not exceed seven days including set-up before and clean-up after the event.

Vendors must also comply with alcoholic beverage laws.

The city also has the right to require a bond, or some other form of surety, to guarantee that the applicant adheres to all the rules and the location is clean after the event.