CHAPTER 161
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 135, VOLUME 29, LAWS OF DELAWARE, ENTITLED "AN ACT TO REVISE AND CONSOLIDATE THE STATUTES RELATING TO CURBSTONE MARKETS IN THE CITY OF WILMINGTON," BY PROVIDING FOR A BUILDING TO BE KNOWN AS THE "FARMERS' AND TRUCKERS' MARKET".
WHEREAS, The Ninety-Sixth Session of the General Assembly of The State of Delaware, by Chapter 135, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware, provided for the continuance, as such, of public curbstone markets then existing on King and Madison Streets, in the City of Wilmington; and
WHEREAS, Said public curbstone markets on King Street, and Madison Street, in the City of Wilmington, as the same existed at the time of the passage of the aforesaid Act of the General Assembly, have continued as such to the present time; and
WHEREAS, The large increase of vehicular traffic in recent years has given rise to serious municipal problems connected with an incident to traffic control, safety, parking and fire protection, which are not capable of solution, in the public interest, so long as said public curbstone markets, shall remain on King Street and Madison Street and, in any removal of said public curbstone markets from King Street and Madison Street to another street, so long as the same shall be required, as under the present Act, to be located on one side of such other street during part of a year and on the other side of such street during another part of a year; and
WHEREAS, It is deemed to be in the public interest that the present public curbstone markets on King Street and Madison Street, in the City of Wilmington, be removed therefrom; that such public markets be relocated, established and placed within a building situate between and bounded by Seventh Street, Eighth Street, French Street and Walnut Street in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle and State of Delaware; that "The Mayor and Council of Wilmington;" a municipal corporation of the State of Delaware, shall have power and authority in the exercise of its jurisdiction, by and through a Market Manager, to designate and establish stalls and spaces within said building, with the limitations presented' by this Act; and that this Act be construed to give effect to these recitals of legislative purpose and intention,
Now Therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware (two-thirds of all Members elected to each House concurring therein):
Section 1. Section 1 of Chapter 135, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware is hereby amended by repealing said section and by enacting in lieu thereof a new Section 1 to read as follows:
§ 1. That "The Mayor and Council of Wilmington", a municipal corporation of the State of Delaware, be and the same is hereby authorized to establish, build and place within a building situate between and bounded by Seventh Street, Eighth Street, French Street and Walnut Street in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle and State of Delaware, a public market; such market to be occupied solely by farmers and truckers whose principal business is the raising of farm products or truck, and by none others. Such market shall be used by such farmers or truckers, exclusively, for the sale of fruit, vegetables, fowls, meats and other farm products raised or produced on land occupied by such farmers or truckers, either as owners, lessees, or farmers upon the share. Such market shall be known as the "Farmers' and Truckers' Market". The public curbstone markets now existing on King Street and Madison Street shall, after the passage and approval of this Act, and after the construction and availability of said building, be moved to and shall be relocated in said building and shall be deemed and taken to be a "Farmers' and Truckers' Market" for all purposes of this Act and shall be continued thereafter as such under the provisions of this Act, provided, however, that the existence of the public curbstone markets on King Street shall cease to exist only after the completion of the said building and the location of the said markets within said building. Said "Farmers' and Truckers' Market" shall be open for business on Tuesday and Saturday between the hours of 7 A. M. and 6 P. M. only; and on Fridays and the day preceding a legal holiday, excepting Sunday, and on the Saturday preceding a legal holiday which falls on a Monday, between the hours of 7 A. M. and 9 P. M. only.
Section 2. Section 2 of Chapter 135, Volume 29, laws of Delaware is hereby amended by repealing said section, and by enacting in lieu thereof a new Section 2 to read as follows:
§ 2. It shall be the duty of the Mayor of the said "The Mayor and Council of Wilmington," a municipal corporation of the State of Delaware, to appoint a Market Manager, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Mayor, which appointment shall be subject to the approval and confirmation of the Council of "The Mayor and Council of Wilmington" to be in charge of said "Farmers' and Truckers' Market". It shall be the duty of the Market Manager during the month of April in each year to lay off and designate spaces and stalls within said building for use and occupancy of the persons entitled to use said "Farmers' and Truckers' Market." There shall be a minimum of 160 spaces and stalls 24 feet in length, and 9 feet wide. The said market shall contain water facilities, toilets, electric lighting, water drains and a minimum of fifty electrical outlets spaced at regular intervals, such outlets to be alternately 115 and 220 volt lines. The sides of the market floor are to be enclosed with moveable transparent materials which could be moved aside for screened materials to provide warm weather ventilation. A suitable sign designating the location of the market shall be erected on the outside of the building.
Section 3. Section 3 of Chapter 135, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware is hereby amended by repealing said section, and by enacting in lieu thereof a new Section 3 to read as follows:
§ 3. That from and after the effective date of the passage and approval of this Act, and after the construction and availability of said building, the following conditions shall apply to the use and occupancy of all spaces and stalls in the "Farmers' and Truckers' Market":
The said "The Mayor and Council of Wilmington" acting by and through its Market Manager aforesaid, shall provide on or before the first day of April in each year, a sufficient number of suitable blanks or forms to be used by the said farmers and truckers in making application for such spaces and stalls. Said blanks or forms shall have a blank space for the date, shall be addressed to the Market Manager of the City of Wilmington, and shall state that the applicant is a farmer or trucker, whose principal business is the raising of farm products or truck, and whether or not said applicant has been the occupant of any spaces or stalls at and within the public curbstone markets situate on King Street and Madison Street in the City of Wilmington and, if so, for how long past, and the said application shall also state just what space and stall is desired by the applicant, providing however, that such requests be for not more than one space and stall; and the said application shall be signed by the applicant in his, her or its full name. When any farmer or trucker who has duly filled out and signed his, her or its application as above stated, shall present the same to the Market Manager, if the space and stall therein applied for has not been heretofore awarded, the Market Manager shall thereupon issue to said applicant a certificate permitting such applicant to occupy such space and stall for one year, from the first day of May, until the thirtieth day of April of the following year, for which space or stall the said applicant shall pay the sum of Fifty Dollars ($50.) annually and no other license fees whatsoever. When any farmer or trucker is already the occupant of any such space or stall, as shown by his, her or its application as above stated, and is applying for a re-allotment of his, her or its old space and stall, and said application is filed with the Market Manager on or before the twentieth day of April in any year, then the Market Manager shall re-allot to the said applicant his, her or its old space and stall as requested, and no space and stall already immediately previously occupied by any such farmer or trucker shall be allotted to any other farmer or trucker until after the twentieth day of April in any year, and the immediately previous occupant shall always have the preference and shall always be re-allotted his, her or its old space and stall for the succeeding year, providing such previous occupant shall express such desire as shown by his, her or its application filed on or before the twentieth day of April in any year, as aforesaid. When such annual sums shall have been paid as herein before prescribed, the person paying the sums and receiving the certificate aforesaid, shall be subject to all the provisions of this Act, and subject to such other reasonable rules and regulations as the said Market Manager, under this Act, and not inconsistent therewith, may prescribe, be entitled to the free and uninterrupted use of such space and stall for market purposes as aforesaid, for the period of one year from the first day of May as above stated. No persons shall have allotted to him her or it more than one space and stall for any one year; and the certificate herein before provided to be given, shall have plainly expressed upon its face the date, the number of the space and stall allotted, and the name in full of the person to whom such space and stall is allotted, and shall be signed by the Market Manager. All said certificates shall expire on the thirtieth day of April in each year, and any space not allotted during the month of April or within thirty days thereafter, in any year, shall upon prepared application as herein before stated, be allotted for the balance of the year, ending on the thirtieth day of April next ensuing, at pro rata rates or at the monthly rate of Ten Dollars ($10.), or the weekly rate of Five Dollars ($5.). At no time shall there be more than two licensees permitted to use the same space or stall, regardless of whether a yearly, monthly or weekly permit is obtained. Any farmer or trucker to whom has been duly allotted such space and stall in the "Farmers' and Truckers' Market" as herein before described, and who does not desire to use the said space and stall on all of the market days during the week for any part or portion of the said year, during which year the said space and stall has been so allotted to him, her or it, may if he, she or it so desires, re-allot or sublet said space and stall to such other farmer or trucker as he, she or it may select, for such days of the week during the said year, or any part thereof as he, she or it may designate, and such other farmer or trucker shall have the same right to the use of said space and stall during such days as the person to whom said space and stall is allotted in the first instance would have, subject at all times to the right of the original allottee to reclaim the said space and stall for the full time, according to his, her or its certificate, providing nevertheless, that any such farmer or trucker, who shall re-allot or sublet his, her or its space and stall for any of the market days during any part of any particular year as above stated, shall not charge or receive any profit or remuneration therefor exceeding a pro rata amount for the actual time during which said space and stall is thus sublet, as compared with the total amount paid by such farmer or trucker for such space and stall for such year. The person who is subletting any space or stall shall notify the Market Manager as to the name of the person who is subleasing any space and stall and the dates of such use and occupancy. Any person renting a space and stall on an annual basis may from time to time sublease the spaces and stalls on either side of his, her or its space and stall; or, if the spaces and stalls adjacent to his, her or its space and stall shall be available on a monthly or weekly basis, he may rent said spaces and stalls from time to time on a weekly basis, provided however that no licensee or sublessee shall obtain the use of more than three spaces and stalls at one time, all of which shall be adjacent to each other. A space holder and his sublessee may both use the same space on any one day if they desire to do so.
In the event of the death of any person to whom a stall has been allotted, the Market Manager shall upon receipt of an application for some within 60 days after the date of death issue a new license for the same space to the spouse of the decedent, if living, or to one of the children of the decedent if the spouse is not living.
Section 4. Section 4 of Chapter 135, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware is hereby amended by repealing said section and by enacting in lieu thereof a new Section 4 to read as follows:
§ 4. It shall be the duty of the said Market Manager to keep an accurate record of all spaces and stalls allotted, with the name of the person and the time for which such person is entitled to the use and occupancy thereof, which shall be a public record and open for public inspection at all reasonable hours.
Section 5. Section 5 of Chapter 135, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware is hereby amended by striking out the word "curbstone" as it appears in Line 2 of said section.
Section 6. Section 6 of Chapter 135, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware is hereby amended by repealing said section and by enacting in lieu thereof a new Section 6 to read as follows:
§ 6. No person shall expose for sale in said "Farmers' and Truckers' Market" within the City of Wilmington, any beef, or pork, or mutton, without having previously taken and subscribed an oath or affirmation before the Clerk of the Council of "The Mayor and Council of Wilmington" for which such person shall pay to said Clerk of the Council the sum of fifty cents), that he is a farmer or trucker as the case may be; that he will not expose for sale in any "Farmers' or Truckers' Market", now or hereafter existing within the limits of the City of Wilmington, any beef, any pork or any mutton unless the same shall have been fed upon lands occupied by him, for a period of at least 90 days before the slaughtering of the same, nor any veal meat, except such be the product of his own cows, upon land occupied by him. The said Clerk of the Council shall thereupon issue to such farmer or trucker a certificate of the taking of such oath or affirmation. The said oath or affirmation and a record of the issuing of the certificate as aforesaid, shall be entered in a record book kept by the said Clerk of the Council for that purpose. The said oath or affirmation and the certificate so given as aforesaid, shall only avail the person so taking and receiving the same up to the thirtieth day of April next, after the same has been so taken and received.
Section 7. Section 7 of Chapter 135, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware is hereby amended by striking out and repealing said section in its entirety.
Section 8. Section 8 of Chapter 135, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware is hereby amended by repealing such section and by enacting in lieu thereof a new Section 8 to read as follows:
§ 8. Any person filling out and signing and filing with the said Market Manager any false application for any space and stall in said market, or making any false statement in any such application, or any Market Manager or any Clerk of the Council as the case may be, refusing to grant a certificate as herein before provided in Sections 3 and 6 of this Act, or charging or receiving more than the legal fees as herein before provided, or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this Act, or violating any of the provisions of this Act, or offending against any of the provisions of this Act, or any farmer or trucker, or any other person or persons, violating any of the provisions of this Act, or offending against any of the provisions of this Act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, by the Municipal Court for the City of Wilmington, shall forfeit and pay a fine not exceeding Fifty Dollars ($50.), or be imprisoned for a period not exceeding thirty days (30) or both, as the Court upon its discretion may deem proper.
Section 9. Section 9 of Chapter 135, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware is hereby amended by repealing such section and by enacting in lieu thereof a new Section 9 to read as follows:
§ 9. In addition to the "Farmers' and Truckers' Market" herein referred to, the said "The Mayor and Council of Wilmington", a municipal corporation as aforesaid, acting by and through its Market Manager as aforesaid, shall have full power and authority to regulate such other public markets in the said City of Wilmington which are in existence as of the date of the passage of this Act as it shall deem proper. All such markets regulated by said "The Mayor and Council of Wilmington" through its Market Manager as provided for in this Section, shall be other than Farmers' and Truckers' Markets, and shall at all times be kept separate and distinct from the Farmers' and Truckers' Markets as designated, described and provided for in the foregoing sections of this Act.
Section 10. Section 10 of Chapter 135, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware is hereby amended by repealing such section and by enacting in lieu thereof a new Section 10 to read as follows:
§ 10. The said "The Mayor and Council of Wilmington", a municipal corporation as aforesaid, acting by and through its Market Manager shall have full and complete power and authority, and it is hereby authorized and directed to adopt and promulgate suitable rules and regulations for the regulation and control of such rules as shall be established under Section 9 of this Act, and for the enforcement of such rules and regulations, and to make provisions for the punishment of persons, firms, associations or corporations who shall refuse or neglect to comply with the same or any of the same.
Section 11. Section 12 of Chapter 135, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware is hereby amended by repealing such section and by enacting in lieu thereof a new Section 12 to read as follows:
§ 12. Upon and after the expiration of the term of office of the present Market Manager in the said City of Wilmington, and in the event that his successor is not as yet appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council of "The Mayor and Council of Wilmington", all fees and monies of every type, class, kind, and description shall be collected, received and paid to the City Treasurer. All such fees and monies shall constitute a portion of the general funds of the City. The compensation of said Market Manager shall be set by ordinance of the Council of "The Mayor and Council of Wilmington" and the compensation or salary of said Market Manager shall be paid in the same manner as other city officials are paid.
Section 12. Section 13 of Chapter 135, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware is hereby amended by striking out the words "Street and Sewer Department" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "Market Manager".
Section 13. Chapter 135, Volume 29, Laws of Delaware is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof a new Section 16 to read as follows:
§ 16. Upon the establishment, building and placing within a building situate between and bounded by Seventh Street, Eighth Street, French Street and Walnut Street in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle and State of Delaware, a "Farmers' and Truckers' Market" in the place and stead of the said King Street and Madison Street market, all rights, titles and interests formerly granted to those persons coming under the authority of and benefiting by the provisions of Chapter 135, Volume 29 Laws of Delaware are hereby continued under the provisions of this Act.
Approved July 9, 1959.