The city of Meridian is going back to the drawing board after it tried to change the way business is done inside homes. This after City leaders say some residents had problems with their neighbors that couldn't be resolved. The changes would have essentially crash Scentsy parties. While the change in code was never about home party sales, the Meridian-based company felt the change would hurt their business and others.
"Our staff wanted to have a conversation with city council with hearing from one set of citizens to take it to hearing where other can also weigh in," explained Meridian Mayor Tammy De Weerd.
One changed propose by city staff, limit the number of customers or employees in a home to two at a time. Another would outright ban businesses in apartments or other multi-family units. Attorneys at Scentsy, makers of wickless scented candles that rely on direct sales at Scentsy parties, believe the changes were too broad and would have made it hard for them to do business in the city they're based out of.
"Certainly we want to be good neighbors to the people that live next to consultants but we also don't want their business curtailed unnecessarily," said Eric Ritter an attorney for Scentsy.
The city council has tabled the proposed change and the mayor says they've created a working group to address their concerns while still allowing businesses to thrive.
"So now it's just about getting it back to the conversation we need to have and see how best we can address it," said Mayor De Weerd.
The city will revisit the discussion again on November 14th.
