Farmer's Market Closure Leaves Shopping Void, Concerns About Future Museum Funding

Palm Harbor's only farmer's market is closed, forcing local shoppers to travel outside of Palm Harbor if they want a farmer's market experience and leaving vendors to find a new place to sell their goods.

"I'm extremely disappointed," said Barb Haley, who helped manage the Palm Harbor Cross Roads Farmer's Market which used to be open every Sunday.

"I think we had a lot of people who started businesses there. The community loved coming and finding different vendors," she added.

The market was held in a grassy, shaded area on the grounds of the North Pinellas Historical Museum at the corner of Belcher and Curlew roads, which are two of the busier roads in the area. The market had moved there from its previous location at Old Palm Harbor Main Street, where a lack of shade and hot pavement created an uncomfortably hot experience for shoppers and vendors. 

In addition to providing an outlet for shoppers and vendors, proceeds from the farmer's market also helped support the North Pinellas Historical Museum. Vendors paid rent to participate in the market, which was used to help pay for the museum's operation and upkeep. 

The farmer's market made about $6,000 last year and was on track to make at least $7,000. Fixed expenses for the North Pinellas Historical Museum are about $12,000 per year, according to Ric Clark, Vice President of the Palm Harbor Historical Society, the non-profit organization that operates the museum.

"It's going to put a strain on the museum, definitely," he said.

Clark also said that in addition to providing financial support to the museum, the farmer's market inadvertently became a marketing tool for the museum.

"There were 200 people every Sunday that came here and the only bathroom was here (in the museum). So, everyone came inside and a lot of shoppers would say, 'Gee, I drive by here every day and I didn't know there was a museum in here.' It brought a lot of people in," said Clark.

So why would a market that many found to be an asset to the community close down?

Both Haley and Clark say complaints about the farmer's market and confusion about the property's zoning led to the market's demise.

Some residents who live nearby complained about noise. Someone complained that the fence was a code violation and someone complained about the number of flags on display. The complaints centered around the residential zoning of the property, said Haley and Clark.

Haley thinks it's wrong to have the property zoned residential, she thinks it should be rezoned to commercial.

"I've never figured out how you can have a historical museum zoned residential," she said.

Because of the complaints, the county asked the Palm Harbor Historical Society to restrict the market to once a month. The historical society decided to shut down the market. Its last day was April 7.

The Palm Harbor Historical Society has made a request to the county for help funding the museum now that the market is closed. 

Patch inquired about the closing of the farmer's market and have not yet heard back from a county commissioner and a representative at Pinellas County government's real estate office. When we hear back, we will post a follow-up story.

What do you think about the closing of the Cross Roads Farmer's Market? Let us know in the comments section below.

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