WILMINGTON — The City of Wilmington is opening its doors to new horse-drawn carriage businesses after 30 years with only one operator in town. The move came after several months of discussion on the issue.
Deputy City Attorney Meredith Everhart presented City Council with two new options during Tuesday’s meeting regarding the permitting of these horse and buggy companies.
The first of the options included seven standard operating medallions with a single temporary use medallion; each operator could have a maximum of four standard medallions. The second option was for six standard medallions with a three medallion maximum per operator.
City Council opted for the first option.
There has been a good deal of discussion over the necessity of a new system over the past year. The issue was raised after one woman, who recently moved to Wilmington with the hopes of opening her own tour company, learned that one company held all the permits, creating a de-facto monopoly.
In an effort to combat the so-called warehousing of medallions by companies hoping to purchase more than needed to keep out competition, a safeguard has been put in place.
The companies are required to use each medallion purchased at least three times a week, or risk forfeiting their medallions — but this isn’t anything new.
“The three times per week requirement is already in our city code under our vehicle for hire ordinance and has always applied for horse-drawn carriages,” Everhart said.
The new ordinances also include some protections for the horse’s welfare, although – as some have pointed out – those protections do not go nearly as far as many other cities’ regulations.
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