IRMO, S.C. — Previously we covered Chapter 24 in the Town of Irmo’s code of ordinances, which makes it illegal for teens to ask to cut their neighbor’s grass for money — a common summer time job.
Many Irmo citizens took to social media to talk about the ordinance, which specifically prohibits peddling, soliciting, panhandling and vending in the town.
If we jump back to Chapter 10, in article two, it states:
"Every person engaged or intending to engage in any calling, business, occupation or profession, in whole or in part, within the limits of the Town of Irmo, South Carolina, is required to pay an annual license tax for the privilege of doing business and obtain a business license as herein provided.”
Business is described in the ordinance as “a calling, occupation, profession, or activity engaged in with the object of gain, benefit or advantage, either directly or indirectly."
Cutting lawns for money would fall under that description; whether this means it will be enforced is another question. Irmo Mayor Hardy King says no one is going to stop a kid from mowing lawns.
“If we were to see a child and stopped to ask the child, ‘what are you doing?’ and they said ‘I’m just trying to drum up some business from me cutting the grass.’ And we were to say ‘well you know you can’t solicit or something like that… technically we would have to go talk to their parents and tell the parents," King explains. "So the idea of a child getting a ticket or an abatement notice — 14 years old, 16 years old or younger — is not true because it wouldn’t happen.”
According to King, these types of tickets have never been issued in the town.
“As far as I know, as far as our town administrator knows; as far as our chief of police knows; we have never written a child for peddling, solicitation or any of that stuff," he said. "We’ve never written a child for operating a business without a business license.”
Though the mayor doesn't think this would ever be an issue, he did say he would support Councilwoman Kathy Condom in adding an exemption to the ordinance for teens.
“That’s what I would like them to do, is make an exemption for young people in summer months, cleaning yards… or something along those lines,” Condom said.
Condom would like to introduce this to council later this year.