Street vending law sending Simi down 'snooty' path

This is a letter regarding the "anti-peddling ordinance" this city is passing.

I have lived in Simi all my life. I grew up with things like the ice cream man, people selling flowers on the corner and garage sale signs on posts.

I am disgusted that this city has gotten so snooty. Excuse me, but this is Simi Valley, not Beverly Hills! It seems like City Council has a problem with people trying to gain a little extra money for themselves.

We can no longer put up signs advertising a garage sale we want to have unless we get special permission from people to put signs on stakes in someone's front yard or special permission from stores.

Call me stupid, but don't most people drive around looking for yard sale signs on street posts? Yet it is perfectly okay for these "lost puppy/kitty" signs to go up and stay there for months on end.

As for the street vendors, once again, why can't someone go out and try to gain a little extra money for their household? Things here in Simi have gone up in price so dramatically that you need second and third jobs to be able to even walk through that ridiculous mall with overpriced stores.

City Council needs to realize not everyone here in this city has paychecks like theirs. Most of us are struggling every day to survive, and these things are a means to survival for some.

What's next? Association fees for people to live in Simi, having to get a special permit to plant certain flowers in your front yard and only if it is pleasing to City Council?

Are they going to tell us what to wear, drive and what color our homes can be next? I thought this was a free country. Simi sure is getting awfully communistic if you ask me! Jane Westover Simi Valley