Response of Alderman Schilderman
At around 5 p.m., the debate was adjourned for the evening meal. In the evening, alderman Susanne Schilderman gave an extensive response to the debate earlier today. She emphatically apologized to the exhibitors, especially for an unsuccessful information evening last week. She also went deep into the dust about the locations of ice cream van Venezia and Broodje Ben on the Oudegracht. Those places will disappear if it is up to the alderman, but she admitted that she had not communicated properly about this. The reasoning is that it is now too busy on the canal and the stalls are in the way.
The alderman is sticking to her plan to raffle the pitches. But she does say that if the city council lays down for it, they will loyally implement another plan. According to Schilderman, drawing lots remains the best solution: “That is transparent, clear and simple.” Moreover, it offers equal opportunities to everyone.
She does, however, promise to conduct a further investigation. That is done by its own lawyers, with lawyers from a large Utrecht law firm and with the lawyers of the branch association of the stand holders. They will investigate the possibilities of a distribution based on a points system. The alderman emphasizes on several occasions that the options are limited, for example that no extra points can be awarded for the fact that a stand holder has had a permit for years.
According to the alderman, the criteria must meet a number of requirements. For example, they may not discriminate and they must comply with an overriding reason of public interest. The lawyers will also look at the possibilities of branching out, but the possibilities are also limited for this, according to the alderman.
Several parties are pushing for a postponement, some are talking about a year, others about several years, then there would be more time for the municipality and the exhibitors to prepare for the change. Schilderman indicates that this is not possible. The only option is to postpone for a few months, by tolerating that the stalls are temporarily there without a permit.
Schilderman promised that the investigation will be completed on April 11. On the same date, the city council will talk to the stand holders. The council debate will continue on April 20. Both the VVD and the PvdA indicated that they will come forward with a motion two weeks before, to get the lottery off the table definitively, among other things. During that meeting, the PvdA also wants to prevent the locations on the Oudegracht from disappearing.