Regulation of Home Businesses Offers New Opportunities and Challenges for Markham
Regulation of Home Businesses Offers New Opportunities and Challenges for Markham (Markham, IL)- Home-based businesses and public dissatisfaction were the focal points of the latest council meeting.
On the top items on the city attorney’s report was an ordinance to approve a text amendment to the Markham zoning code to regulate home occupations in the city was approved. The zoning code will now apply to home based business, such as consulting. The main concern is that business owners would need to declare they are operating a business and file with the city, which can be hard to monitor.
“We have a lot of businesses that are operating but haven’t declared to be registered. It’s a matter of finding out and addressing it,” said Mayor Agpawa.
There was a brief discussion about the identifying commercial vehicles and recreational vehicles. Alderman Rondal Jones suggested an identification tag that business would be required to have if they are using their vehicle for commercial purposes. As of now, the only proof of the what vehicles are used for is the business license on file.
City Clerk’s Report
During the city clerk’s report, a new business received their license. Platinum Security Plus Inc. is a security firm that will initially start with live scan fingerprinting and unarmed security, eventually moving to armed security with peace officers.
During the new business, Alderwoman Wanda McDowell shared updates about the citywide coat drive, an effort she has been leading on behalf of the council.
“I want to thank everyone on this council for their help and support on getting this coat drive out. We have met our goal and we are over our goal,” said Alderwoman McDowell.
As of the night of the meeting, there have been 500 coats donated ranging from children sizes to size 3x, along with boots, hats, and scarves. In addition to the coat drive, there will be an opportunity for residents to receive COVID-19 booster shots.
Public Comments
During the public session, the Mayor read emails from citizens who were not satisfied with the transparency of Markham government. Some of the concerns were about information regarding settlement cases and the recent actions regarding the 1400 unlicensed businesses who received the PPP loan.
The mayor, city attorney and city council all responded to the questions. For the settlement cases, only information that can be legally shared is made available for the public. The city is still taking action on the unlicensed businesses.
The tone of some of the emails were accusatory to the council and rude to the city clerk, which Mayor Agpawa admonished.
“At the end of the day, everyone sitting on the dais has been elected. And we’re elected to make these decisions on the behalf of constituents in wards in this community,” said Mayor Agpawa.
The next city council meeting will be re-open for the public to attend as normal with proper personal protective equipment and social distancing.
Other items on the agenda included:
- Request for Cook County Class 6B Sustainable Emergency Relief (SER) Property Tax Incentive for Permanent Index Number 28-24-308-024-0000 by JMI Crafted Commercial Millwork, Inc. (3032 W. 167th Street, Markham, Illinois 60428)
- A reminder of the citywide coat drive on Saturday, November 20 from 10am to 2pm.
Regulation of Home Businesses Offers New Opportunities and Challenges for Markham
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