When a municipality receives an application for a stand permit, it tests whether the conditions for granting are met. If they are not, the permit will generally not be granted. In the May 30 ruling, however, the Division ruled that in some cases this procedure is too short-sighted. In this case, in fact, there were still alternative locations available, which the college should have pointed out to the applicant. Since the college failed to do so, this resulted in compensation for the applicant.
The application
This case involved an application for a stand permit to sell drinks and small food items on the occasion of a Bruce Springsteen concert. It concerned a stand space near the place where the concert was held. The college rejected the application, despite a submitted view.
According to the college, which is following a negative opinion of the road authority herein, the location is not suitable for such a retail outlet due in part to pedestrian and other traffic flows.
The applicant unsuccessfully objects and appeals the college's decision and the court's ruling, bringing the case to the Division.
Alternative locations
The applicant argues to the Division that there was a food stall near the location he applied for. No permit appears to have been granted for that specific location, but the stall did have a permit for a location across the street. Moreover, it appears that the road authority in this case was helpful in finding a suitable location, resulting in a stand permit for this stall.
The college acknowledges that one applicant was assisted in finding a suitable location while another was not. According to the road authority, each road authority gives advice in its own way and some are more helpful than others.
The Division ruled that this is not a sufficient explanation for the difference in the assessment of the applications and, in the appellant's case, it was wrong not to examine whether alternative locations were available. As a result, the college could not reasonably have made the decision to reject the application, the Division said.
The Division therefore awards damages for loss of sales at the applicant's request.
Conclusion
Thus, in this case, the college did not get away with rejecting the application for a stand permit without helping the applicant to find alternative locations. A factor in this case was that another applicant did receive assistance, which resulted in his permit being granted. So in a similar situation, it may be interesting to object to such a rejection.
