Iowa City may ban game-day vendors outside Kinnick

IOWA CITY – Chuck Ford's days of shouting for people to buy his “big-ass turkey legs” outside Kinnick Stadium may be over.

At its work session Monday night, the City Council in Iowa City will discuss a recommendation from city staff to ban the couple of dozen commercial vendors who sell food and apparel on Melrose Avenue immediately south of Kinnick Stadium during Iowa home football games.

The matter is not directly related to tailgating, but Ford believes the vendors are getting caught up in a broader attempt to clamp down on what some people have said is a tailgating scene gone wild. He is perhaps the best known of the vendors because of his trademark call imploring people to “get your big-ass turkey legs.”

“They need to set down some solid ground rules,” said Ford, of Iowa City. “I don't have a problem with the solid rules, but just enforce them and make sure everybody follows them.”

Neighbors, however, are sick of the trash and congestion on Melrose Avenue, Jean Walker, a representative of the Melrose Neighborhood Association, said in an email message.

“I would also add that it's heartbreakingly depressing to have our neighborhood turned into a disgusting mess on football game days,” she said.

A city committee that studied the issue cited a desire to protect the residential character of the neighborhood and concerns over the zoning code and safety issues in recommending the City Council ban temporary commercial activities on Melrose Avenue. The committee included representatives from the offices of the city manager, city attorney and city clerk; the police and fire departments; and Housing and Inspection Services.

The area is zoned residential, with commercial uses not allowed besides some exceptions, like daycare providers. Still, the game-day vendors have been in place for years.

Last year, however, controversy swirled when the city denied temporary-use permits to two tailgating ventures near Kinnick: the popular Magic Bus and the newly proposed Stadium Club. The Stadium Club was accused of holding tailgating activities anyway.

At the time, city officials acknowledged those were the first two commercials ventures removed from the tailgating scene over a lack of a permit and said they'd address the broader issue later.

Doug Boothroy, Iowa City's director of housing and inspection services, said the problem with the Stadium Club in particular is what prompted city staff to seek changes. Also, a vendor's tent stake punctured a natural gas line the weekend of the Ohio State game, a situation he described as very serious and potentially dangerous.

“We decided that the past enforcement practices where we tolerated what was going on could not continue,” he said.

The committee considered recommending amending the zoning code to establish a new “football game day” temporary-use permit, but it would be difficult and expensive to enforce, although vendor fees could be established, Boothroy said. Also, commercial activity is contrary to what is allowed in other single-family neighborhoods and the city's historic preservation plan, he said. Part of the neighborhood is a national historic district and residents are seeking a local designation.

The executive committee of the Melrose Neighborhood Association said if the vendors are allowed to stay, then the University of Iowa should make room for them in the stadium parking lot. The UI charges fans thousands of dollars per season to park in the lots north of Melrose Avenue.

UI spokesman Tom Moore offered a brief response.

“The University of Iowa is committed to providing a positive gameday atmosphere for its fans, but at this stage, it's too early to speculate about any decision the city might take,” he said.

Nearby University Heights already bans the commercial vendors in its residential area along Melrose Avenue, Boothroy said.

Boothroy stressed that the issue is about commercial vending and not tailgating. He said the latter is considered an informal game-day activity and will continue. Most residents who allow cars to park on their property charge fees.

Even if the vendors are banned, there likely would still be tens of thousands of tailgaters in the area around Kinnick Stadium.

Ford, the turkey leg vendor, acknowledged there is trash on the ground on Melrose Avenue but said it also comes from surrounding tailgaters and the stadium. He said he has trash containers at his stand and believes the city and the UI should provide more.

The current debate comes after a tailgating crackdown last year by the UI that resulted in an intense backlash from fans.

The reaction online to the news of the Melrose Avenue situation also was mostly negative, and swift.

“What is this communist China? I though(t) we lived in America!” was the comment on the social-networking site Twitter from a person with the username @mbranstad.