In a flagrant violation of the law, Savannah officials reveal both horse carriage tour companies are operating stands with no lease.
Savannah carriage companies are openly mocking Savannah and city leaders by breaking the laws that govern them right out in the open, every day, on Savannah’s streets.
Savannah Carriage Companies Operating Stands With No Lease
Horse carriages in Savannah are governed by the “Code of General Ordinances, Article S, Horse Drawn Carriages for Hire.”
Section 6-1566 of the Savannah horse drawn carriage ordinance states:
“Sec. 6-1574. Carriage stands. (a) Any person desiring to have a place designated as a regular stand for horse-drawn carriages in the city shall make application by written petition to the Mayor and Aldermen for the establishment of the horse-drawn carriage stand, setting out where the stand is desired to be. The established stands shall be available for use by carriage companies only through exclusive use lease and time-share lease agreements between the City of Savannah and licensed carriage tour companies. The form of such lease agreements shall be approved by the Mayor and Aldermen.”
Public records request no leases exist for the two main carriage tour pickup points
We submitted a total of three public records requests to the city of Savannah for all leases for all carriage stands.
The requests returned “no results” for any leases at the two main pickup points for Savannah Carriage Tours, and Carriage Tours of Savannah.
The two main carriage stands in the city are:
- Jefferson St @ St Julian Street (City Market).
- West Upper Factors Walk (Hyatt Hotel).
Neither company has the necessary leases, according the the city of Savannah. These leases are required by law (see ordinance language above).
Three records requests, same results
To account for the possibility that leases were accidentally omitted from the first request, two additional requests were made for the same information: A copy of every lease for every horse carriage stand. Follow up requests were more specific, specifying leases for carriage stands at the exact addresses in City Market and outside the Hyatt.
All results were the same: The city repeatedly stated no such leases exist.
Why is the city allowing illegal carriage stands to operate?
This violation of the law is happening right out in the open.
Why is the city of Savannah allowing carriage stands to operate illegally, with no lease?
Video: Both main carriage stands operating without a lease
Here is a short video showing both carriage stands the city has revealed are operating without leases:
