Belleville homeowner and the operator of eight vending machines on his driveway on Octavia Street showed up at city council Monday.
Juan Hernandez hoped to appear as a delegation to speak to council before it made a decision to deny or allow a rezoning so his business could continue to operate.
He was denied the opportunity to speak as his formal notification to the city was handed in after the deadline to appear as a delegation.
Council ultimately denied his application.
(Photo: Quinte News)
Below is what he intended to say to council as a delegation.
Good afternoon your worship and members of council,
My name is Juan Hernandez. I’m the homeowner of 57 Octavia Street. I purchased my home in May of 2014 so I could give my then four-year-old son a better place to live. He is now 11 years old. I’m a single parent, with a single income. Right away, I was having difficulty paying off the mortgage, my car, and all the utility bills on my own. I decide to rent out two of the three bedrooms available. That seem to help a little, but it was still not enough. I needed another source of income. I didn’t want to get a second job, because that would mean less time with my son. During the first three years, living at 57 Octavia Street, I noticed that there was a lot of pedestrian traffic in the area, people walking back from downtown, or parents taking their kids to the park. That’s how I came up with the idea of setting up a vending machine outside my house. It gave me a way to make some extra money without having to sacrifice time with my son and having to get a second job.
Right away, the neighbours started using the machine, and expressing their gratitude. They also started requesting I make certain items available. One lady loves Coke Zero, so I make sure I always have Coke Zero. Another elderly lady has a passionate love for Aero White Chocolates. She’s devastated if I ever run out. The kids started asking for chips and candies, and during the summer, they would beg for freezes and ice cream. People with pets would ask me for dog and cat treats. Parents with babies and toddlers would ask me to make milk available because many times their kids would wake up in the middle of the night, wanting milk, and sometimes they were out, and all the convenience stores in the area were closed. Police officers were also using my machines during the night, and one of them commented on camera that they wished I had a microwave outside, so they could warm up certain items they bought from the machines. The next day, I installed a microwave, and the officers were surprised and grateful, the next time they returned.
As the neighbours kept making more requests, I started buying more machines, so that I could provide what they needed. That’s how my business grew from one machine to ten machines. There are eight machines now because two of them broke just before all of this started. Anyways, if the area was adequately serviced by the other seven convenience stores in the area, as the planning staff report suggests, then my neighbours would have never come to me for their needs, and my business would have never grown. In fact, it would have failed.
In conclusion, my business is essential to both myself and my neighbours. It provides my neighbours with the things that they need, till they can make it to the supermarket, for their regular grocery shopping. And it provides me with the extra income, that’s crucial to being able to pay all the bills and provide for me and my son.
Thank you for your time.
Mayor Mitch Panciuk and councillor Tyler Allsopp voted against denying the rezoning. Many on council believe allowing the business to continue would set a bad precedent leading to more such ventures in residential neighbourhoods.
Hernandez still has time to appeal to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.
City notice posted at 57 Octavia Street. (Photo: Quinte Street)
